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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. land — to come down
  3. dip — to sink
  4. bulb — for light
  5. date — the fruit
  6. cold — an illness
  7. roll — a list
  8. bulb — for light
  9. spell — magic
  10. land — ground
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. can — a tin
  15. spell — letters
  16. spell — a short time
  17. can — to be able to
  18. land — a country
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. cold — not warm
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. can — a tin

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