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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 120 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 light ________________ burned out.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bound — certain
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. band — a music group
  6. bound — tied together
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. bulb — for light
  13. sharp — clever
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. race — the arms race
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. race — a contest
  19. bound — obliged
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. band — a ring
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. race — humankind
  24. pitcher — in 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