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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 light ________________ burned out.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bound — certain
  3. spell — a short time
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. spell — magic
  7. land — a country
  8. land — to come down
  9. capital — money
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. capital — a city
  14. prune — to trim
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. wound — an injury
  18. spell — letters
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bound — tied together
  21. wound — an injury
  22. land — ground
  23. rush — hurry
  24. bound — obliged

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