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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 120 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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. game — a match
  3. march — the month
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. march — music
  8. game — wild animals
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. march — the month
  12. bulb — for light
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — help
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. shower — rain
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. shower — to wash

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