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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 124 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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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. bat — the animal
  4. charge — a price
  5. bulb — for light
  6. spring — of water
  7. fall — the season
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. rock — a stone
  11. fall — to drop
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. fall — to drop
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. spring — the season
  18. charge — electricity
  19. mine — for digging
  20. charge — in control
  21. rock — music
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. spring — a coil

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