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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bark · cap · pitcher · ruler · land · bulb · cold · mine

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. mine — for digging
  4. land — a country
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. cold — an illness
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. cap — a lid
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. cap — of ice
  17. land — ground
  18. land — to come down
  19. cap — a hat
  20. bulb — for light
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. cold — the Cold War

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