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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. file — a document
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a ring
  7. hand — in cards
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. bulb — for light
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. tube — the underground
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. tube — a container
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. sharp — clever
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. file — a line of people
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. hand — help
  22. file — a tool
  23. kid — child
  24. kid — to tease

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