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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. land — ground
  4. tube — a container
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. net — after costs
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cold — an illness
  11. land — a country
  12. prune — to trim
  13. squash — to crush
  14. net — for catching
  15. squash — the sport
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. tube — the underground
  18. bulb — for light
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. bulb — for light
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. net — in sport

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