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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · tube · cold · object · root · shower · row · nail

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. bulb — for light
  3. cold — an illness
  4. object — to protest
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. cold — not warm
  7. object — an aim
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. object — a thing
  12. root — of a plant
  13. tube — a container
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. row — a line
  16. bulb — for light
  17. shower — to wash
  18. row — to paddle
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. shower — rain
  22. root — of a word
  23. root — the cause
  24. nail — for a hammer

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