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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. bulb — for light
  6. suit — in cards
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. suit — to fit
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. suit — clothes
  12. bat — the animal
  13. band — a music group
  14. band — a ring
  15. mark — a grade
  16. mark — a trace
  17. cold — an illness
  18. track — to keep track
  19. track — a path
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. row — to paddle
  22. cold — not warm
  23. track — a song
  24. row — a line

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