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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: bulb · bound · shower · hand · bat · pass · key · bear

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. hand — help
  3. shower — to wash
  4. bat — the animal
  5. pass — a permit
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bulb — for light
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bound — certain
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. key — the most important part
  15. bear — the animal
  16. key — in music
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. bulb — for light
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. key — for a lock
  21. shower — rain
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. bound — tied together
  24. bear — the animal

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