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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. march — the month
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. bulb — for light
  7. spring — of water
  8. tube — a container
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. spring — a coil
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. drill — the tool
  13. march — the month
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. drill — army training
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pitch — completely
  19. march — music
  20. bulb — for light
  21. spring — the season
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. fall — the season
  24. drill — a practice

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