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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. lean — thin
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. land — ground
  5. band — a music group
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. bulb — for light
  8. band — a ring
  9. land — a country
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. hand — in cards
  12. court — for sport
  13. date — the fruit
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. hand — help
  16. court — of law
  17. land — to come down
  18. bulb — for light
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. court — of a king
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. rush — hurry
  23. lean — to bend
  24. lean — to rest against

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