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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. stem — to come from
  3. club — for dancing
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. club — for golf
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. chair — a leader
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. season — in sport
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. club — a group
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. season — of the year
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bulb — for light
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. season — to add flavour

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