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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bulb — for light
  3. ground — the earth
  4. band — a ring
  5. swing — music
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. band — a music group
  9. ground — a position
  10. swing — to play on
  11. spring — of water
  12. suit — to fit
  13. ground — crushed
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. spring — a coil
  17. swing — in golf
  18. saw — the tool
  19. spring — the season
  20. suit — clothes
  21. hand — in cards
  22. bulb — for light
  23. suit — in cards
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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