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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. wound — an injury
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. wound — an injury
  11. race — a contest
  12. bulb — for light
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. shower — rain
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. row — a line
  17. race — humankind
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — to paddle
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. race — the arms race
  23. shower — to wash
  24. stem — to come from

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