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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. bulb — for light
  3. land — ground
  4. rash — a series
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. wake — a trail
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. pound — a weight
  12. hand — in cards
  13. rash — hasty
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. land — a country
  16. land — to come down
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. bulb — for light
  20. fine — all right
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. fine — high quality
  23. mine — for digging
  24. wake — before a funeral

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