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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. content — happy
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. land — a country
  5. land — ground
  6. land — to come down
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. season — in sport
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. season — of the year
  15. row — a line
  16. row — to paddle
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. content — the amount
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. lie — to recline
  24. bulb — for light

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