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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. ground — a position
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. chest — a box
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. bulb — for light
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. ground — crushed
  11. kid — to tease
  12. chest — of your body
  13. ground — the earth
  14. mine — for digging
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. kid — child
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. chest — of your body
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. branch — a division
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. bulb — of a plant

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