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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. cell — in biology
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. stock — shares
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. bat — the animal
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. bulb — for light
  11. field — a subject
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bass — the fish
  14. tube — a container
  15. cell — a phone
  16. tube — the underground
  17. stem — to come from
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. stock — goods
  20. bass — low music
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — farmland
  23. bulb — for light
  24. stem — of a plant

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