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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: row · bulb · band · land · pitcher · bat · spell · deal

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. land — ground
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bulb — for light
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. row — a line
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. spell — a short time
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. land — a country
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. deal — to handle
  17. bat — the animal
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. spell — magic
  20. land — to come down
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. spell — letters
  23. band — a music group
  24. band — a ring

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