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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. land — to come down
  3. bulb — for light
  4. date — the fruit
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. pop — music
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. object — an aim
  10. court — of law
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. pop — to visit
  13. court — of a king
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — a practice
  17. pop — soda
  18. drill — army training
  19. court — for sport
  20. object — to protest
  21. bulb — for light
  22. land — a country
  23. land — ground
  24. straw — dry grass

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