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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. spring — of water
  3. kid — child
  4. spring — the season
  5. band — a ring
  6. file — a tool
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. kid — to tease
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bulb — for light
  13. press — to push
  14. band — a music group
  15. pitch — completely
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. file — a document
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. press — newspapers
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. wax — to grow
  23. bulb — for light
  24. press — a publisher

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