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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 124 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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — for light
  5. roll — a list
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. drill — a practice
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. land — to come down
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. drill — the tool
  12. drill — army training
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. roll — a cake
  17. land — a country
  18. key — for a lock
  19. key — the most important part
  20. key — in music
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. snap — to click
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. bulb — of a plant

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