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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 116 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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. pit — in a race
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. bulb — for light
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. bulb — for light
  11. rush — hurry
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. band — a ring
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. cell — in biology
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. band — a music group
  24. cell — a phone

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