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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've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. shower — to wash
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. lean — thin
  7. date — the fruit
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. club — for golf
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. lean — to bend
  12. chest — of your body
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. row — a line
  15. row — to paddle
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. bulb — for light
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. shower — rain
  21. club — for dancing
  22. club — a group
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. date — on the calendar

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