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

Word bank: chip · deal · stem · cue · tear · march · bulb · chest

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. cue — a signal
  3. chip — to eat
  4. tear — from crying
  5. deal — to handle
  6. tear — to rip
  7. chest — of your body
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. tear — from crying
  10. chip — for betting
  11. march — the month
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. bulb — for light
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. cue — a hint
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. cue — for pool
  21. march — the month
  22. bulb — for light
  23. stem — to come from
  24. march — music

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