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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. fall — to drop
  3. tube — the underground
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bulb — for light
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. cold — an illness
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — to come from
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. fall — the season
  12. lean — to bend
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bore — to tire
  16. bat — the animal
  17. lean — thin
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. tube — a container
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. bore — to drill
  24. bulb — for light

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