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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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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: fork · mine · game · mug · land · dip · bulb · wound

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. game — wild animals
  4. wound — an injury
  5. land — to come down
  6. wound — an injury
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bulb — for light
  10. land — ground
  11. mug — a cup
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bulb — for light
  14. fork — in a road
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. mine — for digging
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. game — a match
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. dip — to sink
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. land — a country
  24. mug — a face

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