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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: scale · bowl · nail · bulb · shower · band · mine · bat

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. band — a music group
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. band — a ring
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. scale — in music
  9. scale — size or range
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. shower — rain
  15. mine — for digging
  16. bulb — for light
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. mine — an explosive

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