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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. land — a country
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. bulb — for light
  5. hand — help
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. face — to confront
  10. bark — to shout
  11. mine — for digging
  12. face — to point toward
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. land — ground
  15. wax — to grow
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bank — of a river
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bank — for money
  20. land — to come down
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. hand — in cards
  24. face — part of the head

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