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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bulb · march · current · cell · wind · fall

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. wind — moving air
  3. current — happening now
  4. march — the month
  5. bulb — for light
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bulb — for light
  8. march — music
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cell — a phone
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. march — the month
  14. current — of water
  15. current — electric
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. cell — in biology

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