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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. mine — for digging
  3. last — final
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. last — to go on
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. bulb — for light
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. pound — a weight
  12. cell — in biology
  13. last — finally
  14. bulb — for light
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. date — the fruit
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — a phone

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