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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. pop — soda
  3. land — a country
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. pop — to visit
  8. ball — a dance
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. land — to come down
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. bulb — for light
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — an injury
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. pop — music
  21. ball — a great time
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. bulb — for light
  24. land — ground

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