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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. shower — to wash
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. face — to point toward
  5. bound — certain
  6. shower — rain
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bulb — for light
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. game — a match
  13. kid — child
  14. bass — the fish
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. face — part of the head
  17. face — to confront
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bass — low music
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — wild animals
  24. bulb — for light

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