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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bulb — for light
  6. march — the month
  7. pop — music
  8. rash — a series
  9. fall — to drop
  10. rash — hasty
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. bulb — for light
  15. fall — the season
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. pop — soda
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. fall — to drop
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. march — music
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. deal — to handle
  24. march — the month

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