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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: last · cold · bulb · bass · file · mouse · band · fork

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. last — final
  6. bass — the fish
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. last — to go on
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. file — a document
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. bass — low music
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. band — a music group
  16. last — finally
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. band — a ring
  20. file — a tool
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. fork — in a road
  23. file — a line of people
  24. fork — to eat with

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