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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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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: game · bulb · wound · pop · bat · ball · pound · safe

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. game — wild animals
  4. bulb — for light
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. ball — a great time
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. game — a match
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pop — soda
  13. wound — an injury
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. pop — to visit
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. ball — a dance
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. pound — a weight
  24. pop — music

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