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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. spring — a coil
  3. spring — of water
  4. bulb — for light
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. swing — to play on
  8. wound — an injury
  9. swing — music
  10. bulb — for light
  11. swing — in golf
  12. game — wild animals
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. spring — the season
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pitch — completely
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. pitch — a sales talk

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