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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. hand — help
  3. spell — letters
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. spring — the season
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. bulb — for light
  11. spring — of water
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pit — a hole
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. hand — in cards
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spell — a short time
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bat — the animal
  24. spell — magic

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