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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bulb — for light
  6. drill — army training
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. drill — a practice
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. rash — hasty
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. bass — the fish
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. rash — a series
  18. drill — the tool

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