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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. land — to come down
  3. present — a gift
  4. bulb — for light
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. object — a thing
  7. rush — hurry
  8. object — an aim
  9. land — a country
  10. court — for sport
  11. race — the arms race
  12. land — ground
  13. court — of law
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. present — there
  16. present — the time now
  17. race — humankind
  18. cell — in biology
  19. race — a contest
  20. court — of a king
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. object — to protest

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