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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: land · chest · spring · lie · rest · leaves · tube · bulb

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. chest — a box
  3. bulb — for light
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bulb — for light
  7. lie — to recline
  8. land — a country
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. rest — what's left
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. spring — the season
  14. rest — a break
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. tube — the underground
  17. spring — a coil
  18. tube — a container
  19. land — to come down
  20. chest — of your body
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. rest — what's left
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. spring — of water

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