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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 116 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: bulb · game · present · fine · wind · lie · ground · club

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. club — for dancing
  3. present — a gift
  4. game — a match
  5. fine — high quality
  6. club — for golf
  7. fine — all right
  8. bulb — for light
  9. ground — the earth
  10. wind — moving air
  11. present — there
  12. ground — crushed
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. game — wild animals
  15. wind — moving air
  16. club — a group
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lie — to recline
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. ground — a position
  22. bulb — for light
  23. present — the time now
  24. wind — to turn a key

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