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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. last — finally
  5. bound — certain
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. cold — not warm
  8. drill — a practice
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. last — to go on
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. row — a line
  13. plane — a tool
  14. band — a music group
  15. last — final
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bound — tied together
  18. drill — army training
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bulb — for light
  21. band — a ring
  22. row — to paddle
  23. drill — the tool
  24. plane — in geometry

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