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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: bulb · scale · game · face · date · bat · bound · kid

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bound — tied together
  3. face — to point toward
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. date — the fruit
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. bound — certain
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bat — the animal
  11. face — to confront
  12. game — a match
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. game — wild animals
  15. bulb — for light
  16. scale — size or range
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bulb — for light
  19. scale — in music
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. face — part of the head
  23. kid — to tease
  24. bound — obliged

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