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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. pop — to visit
  4. bulb — for light
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bat — the animal
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — the most important part
  11. key — in music
  12. present — a gift
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. pop — music
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. file — a tool
  17. chest — a box
  18. file — a document
  19. pop — soda
  20. board — a committee
  21. present — the time now
  22. present — there
  23. board — to get on
  24. file — a line of people

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