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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. file — a document
  3. present — a gift
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. file — a tool
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — for sport
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. file — a line of people
  12. present — the time now
  13. court — of law
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bulb — for light
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. bulb — for light
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. bat — the animal
  22. rock — a stone
  23. present — there
  24. bulb — of a plant

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