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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 116 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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. shower — rain
  3. object — to protest
  4. stem — to come from
  5. branch — a division
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. shower — to wash
  8. saw — the tool
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. hand — in cards
  12. saw — the tool
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. hand — help
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. object — an aim
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. object — a thing
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  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