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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. game — a match
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. prune — to trim
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. cold — an illness
  7. row — to paddle
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. key — the most important part
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — a line
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. key — for a lock
  16. cold — not warm
  17. fork — in a road
  18. key — in music
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. prune — to trim
  22. bulb — for light
  23. snap — to click
  24. game — wild animals

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