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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. bulb — for light
  3. game — wild animals
  4. bass — low music
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. club — for dancing
  7. pit — in a race
  8. band — a music group
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bulb — for light
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. band — a ring
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. club — for golf
  17. bat — the animal
  18. tear — from crying
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. pit — a hole
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. club — a group
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bat — for baseball

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