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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. drill — a practice
  3. rash — a series
  4. bulb — for light
  5. band — a ring
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. kid — to tease
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — the animal
  12. scale — in music
  13. band — a music group
  14. scale — size or range
  15. rash — hasty
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. drill — the tool
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. kid — child
  23. drill — army training
  24. bulb — for light

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