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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 · cold · bay · band · jam · rest · bulb · bat

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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. bat — for baseball
  2. band — a ring
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bat — the animal
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. band — a music group
  14. bulb — for light
  15. club — a group
  16. club — for dancing
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. cold — not warm
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — a break
  23. cold — an illness
  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