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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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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: tear · tube · file · game · cabinet · hide · scale · bulb

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. tear — from crying
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. file — a line of people
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. tube — the underground
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. bulb — for light
  11. tear — to rip
  12. game — a match
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. file — a tool
  18. game — wild animals
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. scale — size or range
  21. tube — a container
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. file — a document
  24. scale — in music

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