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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 · bowl · hand · stem · plane · cold · chest · temple

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. chest — of your body
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bulb — for light
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. bulb — for light
  12. cold — not warm
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. hand — help
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. stem — to come from
  18. chest — a box
  19. cold — an illness
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. plane — a tool
  24. bowl — to roll

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