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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. march — music
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. snap — to click
  9. content — happy
  10. march — the month
  11. march — the month
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. branch — a division
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. stem — to come from
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. content — the amount
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. bulb — for light
  23. rash — hasty
  24. rash — a series

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