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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. tube — the underground
  5. fine — high quality
  6. bulb — for light
  7. scale — in music
  8. fine — all right
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bulb — for light
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. craft — boats
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. hand — help
  16. prune — to trim
  17. tube — a container
  18. scale — size or range
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. craft — a skill
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. prune — to trim
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. scale — for weighing

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