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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. cold — an illness
  5. stem — to come from
  6. bulb — for light
  7. row — a line
  8. plane — a tool
  9. pitch — completely
  10. cold — not warm
  11. present — there
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bulb — for light
  16. present — a gift
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. present — the time now
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. bear — the animal
  24. cold — the Cold War

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