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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 light ________________ burned out.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. hand — help
  3. rash — a series
  4. rock — music
  5. hand — in cards
  6. court — of a king
  7. tube — the underground
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cap — a lid
  12. rock — a stone
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. court — for sport
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. roll — a cake
  19. tube — a container
  20. roll — a list
  21. rash — hasty
  22. cap — of ice
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. court — of law

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