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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: bulb · dip · staff · spring · chest · rock · file · object

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. staff — employees
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. bulb — for light
  5. spring — of water
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. staff — employees
  8. spring — a coil
  9. file — a document
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. chest — of your body
  13. spring — the season
  14. rock — music
  15. rock — a stone
  16. object — an aim
  17. staff — a stick
  18. dip — to sink
  19. file — a line of people
  20. chest — of your body
  21. object — a thing
  22. file — a tool
  23. bulb — for light
  24. chest — a box

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