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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. tube — a container
  4. bat — the animal
  5. track — a song
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. track — to keep track
  8. bulb — for light
  9. last — to go on
  10. land — ground
  11. sharp — clever
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. track — a path
  14. last — final
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. land — a country
  22. last — finally
  23. tube — the underground
  24. land — to come down

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