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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. band — a music group
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. game — wild animals
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. tear — to rip
  12. band — a ring
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bulb — for light
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. game — a match
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. tear — from crying
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. shower — rain
  24. hide — to keep secret

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