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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. wind — moving air
  3. prune — to trim
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. prune — to trim
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bulb — for light
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. rule — government
  11. rash — hasty
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bulb — for light
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. rash — a series
  20. cold — an illness
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. rule — a law

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