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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. bulb — for light
  3. spring — the season
  4. land — a country
  5. bulb — for light
  6. cap — a lid
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. cap — a hat
  9. last — final
  10. wind — moving air
  11. land — ground
  12. wind — moving air
  13. foot — a measure
  14. land — to come down
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. last — to go on
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. spring — of water
  22. cap — of ice
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. spring — a coil

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