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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. last — final
  5. face — to point toward
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. face — to confront
  9. row — to paddle
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. bulb — for light
  12. row — a line
  13. last — to go on
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. prune — to trim
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. bulb — for light
  21. prune — to trim
  22. face — part of the head
  23. last — finally
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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