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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 116 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 · leaves · band · cold · court · bass · bat · trunk

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. cold — an illness
  4. band — a ring
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bulb — for light
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — not warm
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. bat — the animal
  14. court — for sport
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. court — of a king
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. bass — low music
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bulb — for light
  22. court — of law
  23. band — a music group
  24. trunk — of a car

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