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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 116 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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. saw — the tool
  3. saw — the tool
  4. fall — the season
  5. present — a gift
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. mine — for digging
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. present — the time now
  11. bulb — for light
  12. fall — to drop
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. bulb — for light
  15. row — a line
  16. stem — to come from
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. row — to paddle
  20. pit — in a race
  21. fall — to drop
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. present — there
  24. pit — a hole

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