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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 light ________________ burned out.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. cell — a phone
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. bulb — for light
  8. roll — a cake
  9. prune — to trim
  10. roll — a list
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. file — a document
  16. prune — to trim
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. pit — in a race
  19. file — a line of people
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. pit — a hole
  22. file — a tool
  23. cell — in biology
  24. bulb — of a plant

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