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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. file — a document
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. bulb — for light
  7. chip — for betting
  8. bat — the animal
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. track — to keep track
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. track — a path
  16. file — a line of people
  17. chip — to eat
  18. bulb — for light
  19. prune — to trim
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. file — a tool
  22. fork — in a road
  23. track — a song
  24. fork — a garden tool

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