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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. fall — the season
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. capital — money
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. bulb — for light
  7. fall — to drop
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — to play on
  10. fall — to drop
  11. swing — music
  12. mine — for digging
  13. capital — a city
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. land — ground
  19. pass — a permit
  20. land — a country
  21. wake — a trail
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. bulb — for light

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