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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: wound · plane · hand · cold · bulb · stick · pop · ball

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. ball — a dance
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. cold — an illness
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bulb — for light
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. pop — soda
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. pop — music
  14. plane — a tool
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — an injury
  17. pop — to visit
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. bulb — for light
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. hand — in cards
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. ball — a great time
  24. hand — help

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