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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. scale — size or range
  6. spring — a coil
  7. fall — to drop
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. fall — to drop
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bulb — for light
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. chair — a leader
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — the season
  20. scale — in music
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. fall — the season
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. bulb — for light

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