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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 120 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 ________________ went through the wall.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. pit — in a race
  3. bulb — for light
  4. spell — magic
  5. spell — a short time
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. game — wild animals
  8. file — a document
  9. pit — a hole
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. file — a line of people
  12. game — a match
  13. bulb — for light
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. spell — letters
  18. file — a tool

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