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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 116 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've got to change the light ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. swing — music
  4. spring — of water
  5. club — for golf
  6. bulb — for light
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. plane — a tool
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. spring — a coil
  14. club — for dancing
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. spring — the season
  17. swing — in golf
  18. perch — the fish
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. swing — to play on
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. club — a group
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — belonging to me

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