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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 116 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. ball — a great time
  3. craft — boats
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. rest — a break
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. craft — a skill
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. cold — not warm
  11. rest — what's left
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. ball — a dance
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — in biology
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cold — an illness
  21. hand — in cards
  22. cell — a phone
  23. trunk — of a car
  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