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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 120 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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. wound — an injury
  4. season — in sport
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. press — to push
  8. press — a publisher
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. season — of the year
  11. wound — an injury
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. band — a ring
  18. shower — to wash
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. shower — rain
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. press — newspapers

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