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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 need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. row — a line
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. row — to paddle
  6. drill — a practice
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. drill — army training
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bulb — for light
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. wound — an injury
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. branch — a division
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. bulb — for light
  19. wound — an injury
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — not warm
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. racket — for tennis

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