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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: wound · pitcher · bowl · bulb · wind · rock · bat · race

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. wound — an injury
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. bulb — for light
  11. race — humankind
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. rock — a stone
  14. bulb — for light
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. wound — an injury
  18. race — a contest
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. rock — music
  23. bat — the animal
  24. race — the arms race

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