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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. bore — to tire
  3. bulb — for light
  4. land — ground
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. land — to come down
  8. pop — soda
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. track — to keep track
  11. track — a song
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. land — a country
  16. kid — child
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. pop — music
  19. bat — the animal
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. track — a path
  24. pop — to visit

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