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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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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: fan · net · hide · content · trunk · bulb · rash · stem

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. stem — to come from
  3. net — after costs
  4. content — the amount
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rash — a series
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bulb — for light
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. content — happy
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. rash — hasty
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. bulb — for light
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. net — in sport
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. net — for catching

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