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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. snap — to click
  6. fall — to drop
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. bulb — for light
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. band — a ring
  15. fall — the season
  16. wound — an injury
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. band — a music group
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. chair — a leader
  22. wound — an injury
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. fall — to drop

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