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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. last — finally
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — a coil
  5. bore — to tire
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. last — final
  8. net — for catching
  9. sharp — clever
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. net — in sport
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. plane — a tool
  17. bore — to drill
  18. last — to go on
  19. bulb — for light
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. spring — the season
  23. net — after costs
  24. bore — gave birth

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