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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bulb — for light
  3. mine — for digging
  4. bulb — for light
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. file — a line of people
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. file — a tool
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. file — a document
  15. bass — low music
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. cold — not warm
  18. dip — to sink
  19. bass — the fish
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. saw — the tool
  22. cold — an illness
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. bulb — of a plant

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