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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: stem · present · fan · rock · fall · band · cold · bulb

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. cold — an illness
  3. band — a ring
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. bulb — for light
  7. rock — a stone
  8. rock — music
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bulb — for light
  14. present — the time now
  15. band — a music group
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cold — not warm
  21. present — there
  22. fall — to drop
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. fall — the season

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