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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've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  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. spell — a short time
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — a container
  6. bulb — for light
  7. scale — in music
  8. cold — an illness
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. land — a country
  12. spell — magic
  13. cold — not warm
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. bulb — for light
  18. land — ground
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. scale — size or range
  22. land — to come down
  23. spell — letters
  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