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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. bat — the animal
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — to crush
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. pitch — completely
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pit — in a race
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. pit — a hole
  17. bulb — for light
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — money
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. game — a match
  23. game — wild animals
  24. capital — a city

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