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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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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bulb — for light
  3. staff — employees
  4. bulb — for light
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. cold — not warm
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. perch — the fish
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. staff — a stick
  18. fork — in a road

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