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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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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: track · fall · bulb · shower · scale · cold · pit · plane

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. bulb — for light
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — not warm
  5. fall — to drop
  6. track — a song
  7. scale — in music
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — to wash
  11. fall — to drop
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. pit — a hole
  14. fall — the season
  15. pit — in a race
  16. scale — size or range
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. track — a path
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. track — to keep track
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. cold — an illness

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