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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. board — a committee
  4. spell — a short time
  5. key — for a lock
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — the season
  8. band — a ring
  9. spell — letters
  10. tear — from crying
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. dip — to sink
  13. bulb — for light
  14. spring — of water
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. key — in music
  19. bulb — for light
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. board — to get on
  23. spell — magic
  24. key — the most important part

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