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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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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. lean — to bend
  5. season — in sport
  6. chest — of your body
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. roll — a cake
  9. bulb — for light
  10. fork — in a road
  11. season — of the year
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. chest — of your body
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. lean — thin
  17. chest — a box
  18. roll — a list

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