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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bulb — for light
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bound — obliged
  7. last — final
  8. game — wild animals
  9. tube — the underground
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. bound — tied together
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. last — finally
  14. tube — a container
  15. game — a match
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a line of people
  18. saw — the tool
  19. foot — a measure
  20. file — a document
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. bound — certain
  23. saw — the tool
  24. last — to go on

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