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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. last — final
  4. last — finally
  5. row — to paddle
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. clip — for paper
  8. kid — child
  9. band — a ring
  10. pop — soda
  11. clip — a video
  12. last — to go on
  13. current — electric
  14. kid — to tease
  15. current — happening now
  16. current — of water
  17. pop — to visit
  18. clip — to cut
  19. band — a music group
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. bulb — for light
  22. row — a line
  23. bulb — for light
  24. row — a quarrel

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