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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. pop — soda
  3. row — to paddle
  4. hand — in cards
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. kid — child
  7. file — a line of people
  8. pop — to visit
  9. bulb — for light
  10. row — a line
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. file — a tool
  13. kid — to tease
  14. game — a match
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. game — wild animals
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. lean — to bend
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. hand — help
  22. lean — thin
  23. file — a document
  24. pop — music

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