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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 124 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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. bulb — for light
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. date — the fruit
  8. spring — a coil
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. rash — a series
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. key — the most important part
  14. key — in music
  15. cell — in biology
  16. spring — the season
  17. rash — hasty
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. chair — a leader
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. bulb — for light
  22. key — for a lock
  23. spring — of water
  24. rash — on the skin

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