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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. net — in sport
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. net — after costs
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. game — a match
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. game — wild animals
  14. net — for catching
  15. bulb — for light
  16. chair — a leader
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. bulb — for light
  19. race — the arms race
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — humankind
  22. tube — a container
  23. tube — the underground
  24. hide — animal skin

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