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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.

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: deal · mine · fan · chair · bulb · cold · date · spell

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. date — the fruit
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. deal — to handle
  10. cold — not warm
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. spell — magic
  13. bulb — for light
  14. spell — letters
  15. spell — a short time
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. cold — an illness
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. chair — a leader

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