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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. bulb — for light
  3. race — humankind
  4. file — a tool
  5. land — ground
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. club — for dancing
  8. spell — letters
  9. file — a line of people
  10. land — to come down
  11. spell — magic
  12. file — a document
  13. race — the arms race
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. spell — a short time
  17. race — a contest
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. club — a group
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. dip — to sink
  23. land — a country
  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