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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. spell — magic
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. net — in sport
  5. spell — letters
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bat — the animal
  9. capital — money
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. net — after costs
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. bulb — for light
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. net — for catching
  20. capital — a city
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bulb — for light

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