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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. band — a ring
  3. swing — to play on
  4. wake — a trail
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. rash — a series
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. swing — in golf
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. rash — hasty
  15. chair — a leader
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. band — a music group
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. bulb — for light
  20. swing — music
  21. wound — an injury
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. wound — an injury

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