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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. ball — a great time
  4. saw — the tool
  5. wind — moving air
  6. spring — a coil
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pop — music
  9. bulb — for light
  10. ball — a dance
  11. snap — to click
  12. bulb — for light
  13. pop — soda
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. spring — the season
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. saw — the tool
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. pop — to visit
  22. board — a committee
  23. board — to get on
  24. spring — of water

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