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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. march — the month
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. craft — a skill
  10. bulb — for light
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. charge — in control
  14. march — music
  15. bulb — for light
  16. spring — the season
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. craft — boats
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. march — the month
  21. spring — a coil
  22. charge — electricity
  23. charge — a price
  24. spring — of water

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