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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: shower · jam · rule · date · fan · bulb · last · spring

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. shower — rain
  3. bulb — for light
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. rule — government
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — the season
  9. bulb — for light
  10. last — final
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. shower — to wash
  14. date — the fruit
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. last — to go on
  17. rule — a law
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. spring — of water
  21. last — finally
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. jam — in traffic

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