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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. march — the month
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. lean — thin
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. pass — a permit
  9. land — ground
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. land — to come down
  13. march — music
  14. land — a country
  15. lean — to bend
  16. spring — of water
  17. bulb — for light
  18. current — happening now
  19. spring — the season
  20. march — the month
  21. spring — a coil
  22. current — electric
  23. mine — for digging
  24. current — of water

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