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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: club · bulb · object · kid · chair · rest

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. object — to protest
  4. kid — child
  5. bulb — for light
  6. rest — a break
  7. rest — what's left
  8. kid — to tease
  9. club — for golf
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. club — for dancing
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. object — a thing
  14. club — a group
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. object — an aim
  18. rest — what's left

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