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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. file — a document
  3. drill — army training
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. court — for sport
  8. bulb — for light
  9. court — of a king
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. chest — of your body
  13. file — a tool
  14. court — of law
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bound — tied together
  17. drill — the tool
  18. bound — obliged
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. chest — a box
  21. bound — certain
  22. file — a line of people
  23. drill — a practice
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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