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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. rock — music
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. pit — a hole
  5. clip — for paper
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bulb — for light
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. clip — a video
  13. sharp — clever
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. pit — in a race
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. spell — magic
  19. rock — a stone
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. spell — letters
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. spell — a short time
  24. clip — to cut

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