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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. rule — a law
  3. land — to come down
  4. season — in sport
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. pop — soda
  8. bulb — for light
  9. mate — a partner
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. pop — to visit
  12. mate — a friend
  13. land — ground
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. land — a country
  17. bass — the fish
  18. rule — government
  19. mate — to breed
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. pop — music
  22. bass — low music
  23. season — of the year
  24. bulb — for light

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