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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 120 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. cold — an illness
  3. dip — to sink
  4. clip — for paper
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. land — a country
  7. bulb — for light
  8. cold — not warm
  9. rest — a break
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. present — a gift
  12. clip — to cut
  13. land — to come down
  14. present — there
  15. clip — a video
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. present — the time now
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. deal — to handle
  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