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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. chest — of your body
  3. spell — a short time
  4. bore — to tire
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. bulb — for light
  9. chest — a box
  10. spring — of water
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. spring — the season
  13. rush — hurry
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. spell — letters
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. bore — to drill
  18. kick — in football
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. chest — of your body
  21. spell — magic
  22. bulb — for light
  23. wake — a trail
  24. spring — a coil

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