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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. bulb — for light
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. cue — for pool
  5. chest — of your body
  6. spring — the season
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. deal — to handle
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. bulb — for light
  12. spring — a coil
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. cue — a signal
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — a division
  18. saw — the tool
  19. spring — of water
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cue — a hint
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. chest — a box

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