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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. mine — for digging
  3. wind — moving air
  4. land — a country
  5. bulb — for light
  6. wind — moving air
  7. land — ground
  8. bulb — for light
  9. branch — a division
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. content — happy
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. content — the amount
  19. land — to come down
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. perch — the fish
  24. nail — for a hammer

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