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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.

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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bass — the fish
  6. fine — all right
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. bulb — for light
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bass — low music
  13. cold — not warm
  14. squash — to crush
  15. fine — high quality
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. squash — the sport
  21. ball — a great time
  22. ball — a dance
  23. wound — an injury
  24. capital — a city

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