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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. bulb — for light
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. chair — a leader
  6. bulb — for light
  7. band — a music group
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. race — humankind
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. race — a contest
  15. band — a ring
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. race — the arms race
  21. kid — to tease
  22. ball — a dance
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. ball — a great time

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