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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 120 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. fall — to drop
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. board — to get on
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. sharp — clever
  12. tube — the underground
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bulb — for light
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. fall — to drop
  18. mark — a trace
  19. mark — a grade
  20. tube — a container
  21. fall — the season
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. chair — a leader
  24. board — a committee

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