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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. pop — to visit
  7. pop — soda
  8. bound — tied together
  9. net — in sport
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. roll — a list
  12. bulb — for light
  13. pop — music
  14. roll — a cake
  15. tube — a container
  16. chest — a box
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — after costs
  20. bound — certain
  21. chest — of your body
  22. tube — the underground
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bound — obliged

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