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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. net — for catching
  5. shower — rain
  6. spell — a short time
  7. bulb — for light
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. bear — the animal
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. spell — letters
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. net — in sport
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a tool
  19. net — after costs
  20. pound — a weight
  21. file — a document
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. spell — magic
  24. shower — to wash

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