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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 120 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: bulb · shower · pop · lie · season · kid · face · drill

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. drill — army training
  3. pop — music
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bulb — for light
  6. season — of the year
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. kid — to tease
  9. pop — soda
  10. lie — to recline
  11. shower — rain
  12. face — part of the head
  13. season — in sport
  14. face — to point toward
  15. kid — child
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. pop — to visit
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. face — to confront
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. shower — to wash
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — a practice

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