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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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Word bank
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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: rash · bulb · shower · land · row · rule · band · club

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. club — for dancing
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. land — a country
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. rash — hasty
  7. shower — rain
  8. bulb — for light
  9. band — a music group
  10. land — ground
  11. row — to paddle
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. bulb — for light
  14. band — a ring
  15. rule — a law
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. rash — a series
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. club — a group
  20. land — to come down
  21. rule — government
  22. row — a line
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. club — for golf

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