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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've got to change the light ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. kid — child
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. pound — a weight
  9. field — farmland
  10. bulb — for light
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. field — for sport
  15. kid — to tease
  16. rest — what's left
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. rest — what's left
  20. field — a subject
  21. wound — an injury
  22. shower — to wash
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. rest — a break

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