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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. bulb — for light
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. net — for catching
  6. bound — obliged
  7. scale — in music
  8. bound — certain
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. net — after costs
  12. net — in sport
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. cell — a phone
  15. land — a country
  16. bound — tied together
  17. scale — size or range
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. rush — hurry
  20. cell — in biology
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. bulb — for light
  24. land — to come down

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