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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. snap — to click
  3. band — a music group
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. bulb — for light
  7. court — of a king
  8. shower — to wash
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. stem — to come from
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. court — for sport
  13. court — of law
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. kick — in football
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. band — a ring
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. shower — rain
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. band — a rubber band

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