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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 116 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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. row — a line
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. kid — to tease
  7. chip — for betting
  8. game — wild animals
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. press — newspapers
  11. bulb — for light
  12. row — to paddle
  13. chip — to eat
  14. kid — child
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. bulb — for light
  17. press — a publisher
  18. game — a match
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a line of people
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. press — to push

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