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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: kid · rule · wind · pop · mine · bat · bulb · foot

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pop — to visit
  4. bulb — for light
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. rule — a law
  8. pop — soda
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. pop — music
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. kid — child
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bat — the animal
  20. rule — government
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bulb — for light

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