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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: spring · present · rule · shower · bore · lie · bulb · cell

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. spring — a coil
  5. shower — to wash
  6. bulb — for light
  7. cell — a phone
  8. spring — the season
  9. cell — in biology
  10. present — there
  11. rule — a law
  12. lie — to recline
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. spring — of water
  16. bore — to drill
  17. shower — rain
  18. bore — to tire
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. present — the time now
  23. rule — government
  24. present — a gift

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