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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. bound — tied together
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. bulb — for light
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. kid — child
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. game — wild animals
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bound — certain
  15. fall — to drop
  16. band — a ring
  17. fall — to drop
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. game — a match
  20. bulb — for light
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. lie — to recline
  23. band — a music group
  24. fall — the season

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