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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. pop — to visit
  3. bulb — for light
  4. pop — soda
  5. roll — a list
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. lean — thin
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. pop — music
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. bulb — for light
  14. ground — crushed
  15. ground — the earth
  16. bat — the animal
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. row — to paddle
  19. ground — a position
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. row — a line
  23. lean — to bend
  24. bulb — of a plant

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