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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pit — in a race
  6. bulb — for light
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. ground — the earth
  10. bulb — for light
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. ground — crushed
  13. board — to get on
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. ground — a position
  18. bat — the animal
  19. board — a committee
  20. row — to paddle
  21. row — a line
  22. wake — a trail
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bat — for baseball

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