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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. ball — a great time
  3. file — a document
  4. bulb — for light
  5. file — a line of people
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cell — a phone
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. bulb — for light
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. roll — a list
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — in sport
  17. roll — a cake
  18. ball — a dance
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. season — of the year
  22. file — a tool
  23. chest — a box
  24. chest — of your body

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