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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bulb — for light
  3. drill — the tool
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bound — tied together
  6. drill — army training
  7. pit — a hole
  8. drill — a practice
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bulb — for light
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. chest — of your body
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. chest — a box
  21. bound — obliged
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bound — certain
  24. pit — in a race

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