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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bulb — for light
  3. pop — to visit
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. perch — the fish
  7. shower — rain
  8. board — to get on
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. rash — a series
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. cell — a phone
  15. pop — soda
  16. bulb — for light
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. board — a committee
  20. band — a music group
  21. pop — music
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. shower — to wash

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