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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 120 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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. chest — a box
  4. cue — for pool
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. tube — the underground
  7. content — happy
  8. shower — to wash
  9. content — the amount
  10. saw — the tool
  11. chest — of your body
  12. cue — a hint
  13. row — a line
  14. chest — of your body
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. saw — the tool
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. bulb — for light
  20. row — to paddle
  21. tube — a container
  22. shower — rain
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. cue — a signal

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