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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. ground — the earth
  4. land — a country
  5. pass — a permit
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. ground — a position
  10. land — to come down
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. bulb — for light
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — the animal
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. wind — moving air
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. kid — to tease
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. land — ground
  22. ground — crushed
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bulb — for light

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