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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. lean — thin
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. track — to keep track
  6. lean — to bend
  7. race — humankind
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bat — the animal
  11. land — a country
  12. race — a contest
  13. race — the arms race
  14. track — a song
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. land — ground
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. land — to come down
  21. bulb — for light
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. track — a path

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