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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. rash — hasty
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bulb — for light
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. plane — a tool
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. bulb — for light
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cell — in biology
  14. saw — the tool
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — farmland
  17. rash — a series
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. field — a subject
  21. cold — not warm
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. saw — the tool

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