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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. band — a music group
  3. club — for dancing
  4. bulb — for light
  5. cap — a lid
  6. shower — rain
  7. spring — the season
  8. bulb — for light
  9. cap — of ice
  10. bark — to shout
  11. band — a ring
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. club — for golf
  14. club — a group
  15. mate — a friend
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. shower — to wash
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. mate — a partner
  22. spring — of water
  23. mate — to breed
  24. cap — a hat

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