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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. scale — size or range
  3. wound — an injury
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. last — to go on
  7. bulb — for light
  8. last — finally
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. scale — in music
  11. wound — an injury
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. chair — a leader
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. game — wild animals
  17. bulb — for light
  18. mine — for digging
  19. game — a match
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. rush — hurry
  22. last — final
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. scale — for weighing

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