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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. wind — moving air
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. chip — to eat
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. bulb — for light
  12. chip — for betting
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. mine — for digging
  16. scale — in music
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. season — of the year
  19. season — in sport
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. bulb — for light
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. scale — size or range
  24. pitcher — in baseball

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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