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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. bulb — for light
  4. mate — to breed
  5. pit — a hole
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. dip — to sink
  8. last — final
  9. last — to go on
  10. mate — a partner
  11. game — a match
  12. mate — a friend
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. pit — in a race
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. last — finally
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. game — wild animals
  21. bulb — for light
  22. chair — a leader
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. band — a music group

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