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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. bulb — for light
  3. pop — music
  4. file — a document
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a music group
  7. object — an aim
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. cap — a hat
  12. object — a thing
  13. cap — a lid
  14. pop — soda
  15. pop — to visit
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a line of people
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. dip — to sink
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. cap — of ice
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. bulb — for light

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