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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. land — ground
  5. bulb — for light
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. degree — from a university
  8. land — to come down
  9. deal — to handle
  10. degree — an amount
  11. file — a line of people
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. bulb — for light
  14. sharp — clever
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. land — a country
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. degree — temperature
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. lean — to bend
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a tool
  24. lean — thin

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