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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. bulb — for light
  7. cold — not warm
  8. rule — a law
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. rule — government
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cold — an illness
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. toast — bread
  20. band — a music group
  21. band — a ring
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. wind — moving air

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