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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. land — to come down
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. scale — size or range
  7. land — ground
  8. band — a ring
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. kid — child
  15. band — a music group
  16. perch — the fish
  17. kid — to tease
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. land — a country
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — for light
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. scale — in music

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