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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. rule — a law
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. land — a country
  5. bulb — for light
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rash — a series
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. root — the cause
  12. root — of a word
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. perch — the fish
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bass — the fish
  17. root — of a plant
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bulb — for light
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. rule — government
  22. land — ground
  23. bass — low music
  24. bass — the instrument

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