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

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. chip — to eat
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. spring — a coil
  6. tear — to rip
  7. mate — to breed
  8. land — ground
  9. mate — a friend
  10. spring — the season
  11. tear — from crying
  12. land — a country
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bulb — for light
  15. land — to come down
  16. mate — a partner
  17. chip — for betting
  18. chip — in a computer

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