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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. land — ground
  3. bulb — for light
  4. plane — a tool
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. cold — an illness
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. bulb — for light
  18. stem — to come from
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. cold — not warm
  22. land — to come down
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. land — a country

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