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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. land — to come down
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. cold — an illness
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. bulb — for light
  7. land — ground
  8. stand — to bear
  9. firm — a company
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. land — a country
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — not warm
  19. firm — steady
  20. bulb — for light
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. firm — decided
  24. trunk — of a tree

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