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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. sharp — clever
  4. bulb — for light
  5. can — a tin
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cap — a hat
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. can — a tin
  12. drill — the tool
  13. spring — the season
  14. can — to be able to
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. spring — a coil
  17. drill — a practice
  18. cap — a lid
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. bulb — for light
  21. branch — a division
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. drill — army training
  24. spring — of water

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