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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. race — a contest
  3. bound — tied together
  4. spring — a coil
  5. swing — music
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. ground — a position
  8. race — humankind
  9. swing — in golf
  10. race — the arms race
  11. stem — to come from
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ground — crushed
  14. spring — the season
  15. band — a ring
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. bulb — for light
  18. band — a music group
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. swing — to play on
  22. spring — of water
  23. bound — certain
  24. bound — obliged

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