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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  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 — in an idiom
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cue — for pool
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. march — the month
  6. tube — the underground
  7. bat — the animal
  8. chest — of your body
  9. march — the month
  10. cue — a signal
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. scale — in music
  13. bulb — for light
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. march — music
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. chest — a box
  18. tube — a container
  19. cue — a hint
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. pit — a hole
  22. bulb — for light
  23. scale — size or range
  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