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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. bulb — for light
  4. mate — a friend
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. file — a document
  7. mate — to breed
  8. season — in sport
  9. mate — a partner
  10. bat — the animal
  11. present — a gift
  12. file — a tool
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bear — the animal
  16. present — the time now
  17. present — there
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. bear — the animal
  20. file — a line of people
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. bulb — for light
  23. chair — a leader
  24. season — of the year

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