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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. mark — a trace
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. bulb — for light
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. chair — a leader
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. ball — a dance
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. land — ground
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. snap — to click
  17. land — to come down
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. land — a country
  22. bulb — for light
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. mark — a grade

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