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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. land — ground
  3. kid — to tease
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. bulb — for light
  6. pop — music
  7. pop — to visit
  8. chest — of your body
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bound — obliged
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bound — certain
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. chest — of your body
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bound — tied together
  21. pop — soda
  22. land — a country
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. land — to come down

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