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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bear — the animal
  9. perch — the fish
  10. band — a music group
  11. bear — the animal
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. bulb — for light
  15. band — a ring
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a line

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