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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. cue — a signal
  3. stock — goods
  4. spell — letters
  5. spell — magic
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bulb — for light
  8. wind — moving air
  9. club — a group
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. club — for golf
  12. stock — shares
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. cue — for pool
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. bulb — for light
  19. club — for dancing
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. spell — a short time
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. cue — a hint
  24. calf — a young animal

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