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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 120 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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. band — a ring
  4. tear — to rip
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. wind — moving air
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bass — low music
  12. band — a music group
  13. wind — moving air
  14. clip — a video
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bass — the fish
  17. tear — from crying
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. clip — for paper
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. tear — from crying

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