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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. pop — to visit
  3. pop — music
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. wind — moving air
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. bulb — for light
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pop — soda
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. fork — in a road
  17. band — a ring
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. band — a music group
  23. date — the fruit
  24. bowl — a football final

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