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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. band — a music group
  3. swing — music
  4. swing — to play on
  5. spell — magic
  6. tear — from crying
  7. game — a match
  8. present — there
  9. game — wild animals
  10. tear — to rip
  11. spell — letters
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — for light
  14. pass — a permit
  15. spell — a short time
  16. tear — from crying
  17. band — a ring
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. present — a gift
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. present — the time now
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. swing — in golf

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