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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. spring — a coil
  3. tube — a container
  4. foot — a measure
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. cold — not warm
  8. tube — the underground
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. cold — an illness
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. spring — the season
  14. bulb — for light
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. shower — to wash
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. spring — of water
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. tube — in a tire

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com