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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. drill — the tool
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. drill — a practice
  6. fall — the season
  7. chest — of your body
  8. capital — money
  9. net — after costs
  10. fall — to drop
  11. mate — a friend
  12. net — for catching
  13. bulb — for light
  14. mate — a partner
  15. chest — a box
  16. mate — to breed
  17. net — in sport
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bulb — for light
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — a city
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. drill — army training
  24. fall — to drop

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