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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: date · bulb · bat · rule · wound · bass · row · mate

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — the animal
  7. rule — government
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. mate — a partner
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. date — the fruit
  13. rule — a law
  14. row — a line
  15. wound — an injury
  16. row — to paddle
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. mate — to breed
  19. mate — a friend
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bass — low music
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. date — on the calendar

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