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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. foot — a measure
  3. band — a music group
  4. bulb — for light
  5. wound — an injury
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. cue — a hint
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. wound — an injury
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. cue — a signal
  18. bulb — for light
  19. band — a ring
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. wake — a trail
  22. cue — for pool
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. foot — the bottom

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