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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 116 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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. file — a tool
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — ground
  6. mate — a partner
  7. chair — a leader
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. file — a document
  10. squash — the sport
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. net — after costs
  13. net — for catching
  14. mate — to breed
  15. net — in sport
  16. bulb — for light
  17. squash — to crush
  18. mate — a friend
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. land — a country
  23. bulb — for light
  24. file — a line of people

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