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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. band — a ring
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. band — a music group
  6. drill — the tool
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. bulb — for light
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. field — farmland
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. field — for sport
  15. squash — the sport
  16. drill — army training
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. field — a subject
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bat — the animal
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. drill — a practice

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