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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. rest — a break
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. lean — to bend
  5. dip — to sink
  6. court — for sport
  7. bulb — for light
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. land — ground
  10. land — to come down
  11. ball — a dance
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. plane — a tool
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. court — of law
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. land — a country
  18. bulb — for light
  19. lean — thin
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. court — of a king
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — what's left

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