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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. staff — employees
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. cold — an illness
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. drill — a practice
  11. cold — not warm
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. staff — employees
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bulb — for light
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. drill — army training
  19. bulb — for light
  20. snap — to click
  21. drill — the tool
  22. staff — a stick
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — an injury

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