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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 · mouse · stick · field · cabinet · march · wound · lash

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. march — the month
  6. wound — an injury
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. march — the month
  12. bulb — for light
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. field — for sport
  17. march — music
  18. wound — an injury
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. field — a subject
  21. field — farmland
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. mouse — the animal

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