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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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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: key · patient · charge · stick · band · bulb · lean · tear

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. key — for a lock
  3. charge — electricity
  4. key — in music
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. key — the most important part
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. lean — to bend
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a ring
  12. charge — in control
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bulb — for light
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. tear — from crying
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. lean — thin
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. charge — a price
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. tear — from crying

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