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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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. pit — a hole
  4. band — a music group
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bulb — for light
  8. swing — to play on
  9. march — music
  10. swing — music
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a ring
  15. march — the month
  16. bat — the animal
  17. pit — in a race
  18. lie — to recline
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. march — the month
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. swing — in golf
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. lie — an untruth

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