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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 116 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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. wound — an injury
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — to tease
  5. branch — a division
  6. kid — child
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bound — obliged
  10. wake — a trail
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. cap — a hat
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. cap — a lid
  15. wound — an injury
  16. key — the most important part
  17. key — for a lock
  18. bulb — for light
  19. cap — of ice
  20. key — in music
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bound — tied together
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. bound — certain

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