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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. stock — goods
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a ring
  8. bulb — for light
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. can — a tin
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. hand — help
  14. stock — shares
  15. can — a tin
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. can — to be able to
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. hand — in cards
  23. pitch — completely
  24. straw — dry grass

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