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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. scale — size or range
  4. race — humankind
  5. sharp — clever
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. net — in sport
  8. bulb — for light
  9. band — a ring
  10. cap — a lid
  11. race — the arms race
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. bat — the animal
  14. band — a music group
  15. scale — in music
  16. net — for catching
  17. cap — a hat
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. cap — of ice
  20. bulb — for light
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. race — a contest
  23. net — after costs
  24. band — a rubber band

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