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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. hand — help
  3. cell — a phone
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. hand — in cards
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. dip — to sink
  8. last — final
  9. bulb — for light
  10. plane — a tool
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. bulb — for light
  14. last — finally
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. mine — for digging
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. last — to go on
  23. pound — a weight
  24. dip — to dunk

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