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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. hand — help
  3. race — a contest
  4. shower — rain
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. bulb — for light
  7. pass — a permit
  8. row — to paddle
  9. hand — in cards
  10. race — humankind
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. shower — to wash
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. bulb — for light
  17. race — the arms race
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. row — a line
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. row — a quarrel

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