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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 116 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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. key — in music
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. bulb — for light
  5. spell — letters
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. spring — a coil
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — a break
  12. spell — magic
  13. bulb — for light
  14. key — the most important part
  15. key — for a lock
  16. last — to go on
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — of water
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. spell — a short time
  21. last — final
  22. last — finally
  23. ball — a great time
  24. mine — belonging to me

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