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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bulb — for light
  3. lean — thin
  4. plane — a tool
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. squash — the sport
  7. prune — to trim
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. bulb — for light
  11. spell — letters
  12. lean — to bend
  13. spell — magic
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. land — a country
  17. shower — rain
  18. squash — to crush
  19. prune — to trim
  20. spell — a short time
  21. land — to come down
  22. shower — to wash
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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