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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. band — a ring
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. lean — to bend
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. scale — in music
  8. spring — of water
  9. track — to keep track
  10. spring — a coil
  11. squash — to crush
  12. band — a music group
  13. scale — size or range
  14. spring — the season
  15. lean — thin
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — for light
  20. kick — in football
  21. track — a song
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. squash — the sport
  24. track — a path

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