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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: band · lie · bulb · saw · swing · mate · shower · content

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. swing — music
  3. band — a music group
  4. swing — to play on
  5. mate — a partner
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. bulb — for light
  10. shower — rain
  11. lie — to recline
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. bulb — for light
  14. band — a ring
  15. mate — a friend
  16. shower — to wash
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. swing — in golf
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. content — the amount
  23. saw — the tool
  24. content — happy

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