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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: deal · date · march · shower · bulb · tear · mouse · band

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. date — the fruit
  4. tear — from crying
  5. march — music
  6. bulb — for light
  7. tear — from crying
  8. band — a ring
  9. shower — to wash
  10. band — a music group
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. shower — rain
  15. tear — to rip
  16. march — the month
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. march — the month
  22. deal — to handle
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. mouse — for a computer

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