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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 120 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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. hand — help
  6. file — a tool
  7. bear — the animal
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bear — the animal
  14. degree — an amount
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bulb — for light
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. file — a line of people
  22. lie — to recline
  23. degree — from a university
  24. file — a document

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