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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 124 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bulb — for light
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. bound — tied together
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. hand — in cards
  7. ball — a dance
  8. bound — obliged
  9. ball — a great time
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — what's left
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. bound — certain
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. rule — government
  16. rule — a law
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — for sport
  19. rest — a break
  20. perch — the fish
  21. field — farmland
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. rule — to rule out
  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