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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. march — the month
  5. march — music
  6. lean — thin
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bulb — for light
  9. race — a contest
  10. bulb — for light
  11. mark — a grade
  12. lean — to bend
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. march — the month
  15. race — humankind
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. land — ground
  18. spell — letters
  19. land — a country
  20. spell — magic
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. pitch — completely
  23. race — the arms race
  24. mark — a trace

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