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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  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. file — a document
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. bulb — for light
  4. court — for sport
  5. can — to be able to
  6. last — to go on
  7. court — of a king
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. last — final
  10. file — a line of people
  11. bulb — for light
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — a country
  14. band — a music group
  15. last — finally
  16. file — a tool
  17. can — a tin
  18. court — of law
  19. band — a ring
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. can — a tin
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  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