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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. bulb — for light
  3. prune — to trim
  4. degree — temperature
  5. file — a document
  6. can — a tin
  7. land — a country
  8. file — a tool
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. prune — to trim
  14. chip — for betting
  15. bulb — for light
  16. land — ground
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — from a university
  19. band — a ring
  20. chip — to eat
  21. land — to come down
  22. band — a music group
  23. can — a tin
  24. file — a line of people

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