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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. spring — of water
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. wind — moving air
  5. spring — the season
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. cap — of ice
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. cap — a lid
  10. wind — moving air
  11. game — wild animals
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. spring — a coil
  15. bulb — for light
  16. cap — a hat
  17. bulb — for light
  18. nail — on a finger

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