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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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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bulb — for light
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. perch — the fish
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. game — a match
  8. rash — hasty
  9. wind — moving air
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. march — music
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. march — the month
  18. bulb — for light
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. spring — the season
  21. game — wild animals
  22. march — the month
  23. spring — of water
  24. wind — to turn a key

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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