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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. hand — in cards
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. perch — the fish
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. net — after costs
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. hand — help
  15. net — in sport
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. net — for catching

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