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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bulb — for light
  3. land — a country
  4. present — the time now
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. staff — employees
  8. tear — to rip
  9. staff — a stick
  10. bulb — for light
  11. tear — from crying
  12. present — a gift
  13. degree — from a university
  14. band — a ring
  15. tear — from crying
  16. perch — the fish
  17. staff — employees
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. land — to come down
  21. degree — temperature
  22. present — there
  23. band — a music group
  24. degree — an amount

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