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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. pit — in a race
  5. snap — to click
  6. last — finally
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. march — the month
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. swing — in golf
  12. march — music
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. bulb — for light
  15. band — a music group
  16. last — final
  17. last — to go on
  18. pit — a hole
  19. swing — to play on
  20. craft — boats
  21. swing — music
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. craft — a skill
  24. march — the month

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