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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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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: mate · bulb · face · stand · kid · bowl · drill · band

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. band — a ring
  3. bulb — for light
  4. kid — child
  5. drill — a practice
  6. bulb — for light
  7. band — a music group
  8. drill — the tool
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. mate — a partner
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. stand — to bear
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. face — to confront
  16. mate — to breed
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. face — part of the head
  20. drill — army training
  21. face — to point toward
  22. mate — a friend
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bowl — a dish

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