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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: chest · spring · patient · mate · bulb · fan · rest · snap

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — the season
  3. rest — a break
  4. mate — a friend
  5. rest — what's left
  6. snap — to click
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. mate — to breed
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. chest — a box
  14. bulb — for light
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. spring — of water
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. mate — a partner
  20. rest — what's left
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. bulb — for light
  24. chest — of your body

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