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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. band — a music group
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bulb — for light
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. band — a ring
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — to play on
  10. charge — electricity
  11. track — a path
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. cold — an illness
  14. track — to keep track
  15. bulb — for light
  16. swing — music
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. charge — in control
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. charge — a price
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rash — a series
  24. bulb — of a plant

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