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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — a country
  3. bulb — for light
  4. band — a ring
  5. bulb — for light
  6. season — in sport
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. cue — for pool
  11. season — of the year
  12. stock — shares
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. land — ground
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. band — a music group
  19. cue — a hint
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. cue — a signal
  24. bat — in an idiom

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