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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 carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bulb — for light
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — ground
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. present — the time now
  8. present — a gift
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. file — a document
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. bulb — for light
  13. land — a country
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. mine — for digging
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. file — a line of people
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. game — a match
  21. file — a tool
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. present — there
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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