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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. saw — the tool
  3. saw — the tool
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. swing — in golf
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. swing — music
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. pound — a weight
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bulb — for light
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. swing — to play on
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. pound — to hit hard

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