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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 116 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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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: cold · stand · ground · charge · bulb · fall · rule · stem

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. ground — crushed
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. fall — to drop
  7. charge — a price
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. stand — to bear
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. rule — a law
  12. stem — to come from
  13. bulb — for light
  14. ground — the earth
  15. charge — electricity
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. cold — not warm
  19. rule — government
  20. ground — a position
  21. charge — in control
  22. cold — an illness
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. bulb — of a plant

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