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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: bowl · bulb · capital · bass · straw · stand · pound · kid

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bass — low music
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. capital — a city
  8. bulb — for light
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. stand — to bear
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. capital — money
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bass — the fish
  24. pound — a weight

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