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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 light ________________ burned out.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. march — the month
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bat — the animal
  6. plane — a tool
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. object — to protest
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. land — to come down
  11. land — a country
  12. ground — the earth
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. land — ground
  15. object — an aim
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. mine — for digging
  19. march — music
  20. object — a thing
  21. ground — a position
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. ground — crushed
  24. march — the month

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