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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. drill — army training
  4. bulb — for light
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. pit — a hole
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. bat — the animal
  9. drill — the tool
  10. pit — in a race
  11. spell — magic
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. spell — a short time
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. fall — the season
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. spell — letters
  24. drill — a practice

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