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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: ball · chest · fan · tear · trunk · dip · bulb · wake

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. bulb — for light
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. tear — from crying
  8. chest — a box
  9. chest — of your body
  10. tear — from crying
  11. dip — to sink
  12. wake — a trail
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. tear — to rip
  15. ball — a dance
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. ball — a great time
  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