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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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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 · tear · band · dip · pit · game · straw · pound

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. band — a ring
  4. pit — in a race
  5. game — wild animals
  6. bulb — for light
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. band — a music group
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. dip — to sink
  14. tear — from crying
  15. game — a match
  16. tear — to rip
  17. pound — a weight
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. tear — from crying
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. bulb — for light
  22. pit — a hole
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. bulb — of a plant

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