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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 120 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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. rock — music
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. spell — a short time
  6. cold — not warm
  7. spell — letters
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. spell — magic
  10. file — a line of people
  11. cold — an illness
  12. board — a committee
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. bulb — for light
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. file — a tool
  17. object — a thing
  18. object — to protest
  19. stock — shares
  20. stock — goods
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. board — to get on
  23. file — a document
  24. object — an aim

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