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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. bulb — for light
  3. prune — to trim
  4. band — a ring
  5. bulb — for light
  6. object — a thing
  7. game — a match
  8. object — an aim
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. kick — in football
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. object — to protest
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. game — wild animals

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