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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. present — a gift
  4. present — the time now
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. present — there
  7. bulb — for light
  8. drill — the tool
  9. branch — a division
  10. bulb — for light
  11. last — finally
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. bat — the animal
  14. drill — a practice
  15. content — the amount
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. last — final
  19. content — happy
  20. stand — to bear
  21. last — to go on
  22. drill — army training
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. branch — of a bank

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