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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bat — the animal
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. clip — for paper
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. clip — a video
  19. bulb — for light
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. dip — to sink
  22. chair — a leader
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. game — a match

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