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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 116 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've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. staff — employees
  3. mine — for digging
  4. land — ground
  5. object — a thing
  6. bulb — for light
  7. file — a tool
  8. land — a country
  9. file — a line of people
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. staff — employees
  15. file — a document
  16. land — to come down
  17. staff — a stick
  18. object — to protest
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. object — an aim
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. branch — a division
  24. snap — to click

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