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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. bulb — for light
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — of the year
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. rash — hasty
  7. chip — to eat
  8. scale — in music
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. season — in sport
  14. chip — for betting
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. bat — the animal
  17. rock — a stone
  18. row — a line
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. scale — size or range
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. rash — a series
  23. bulb — for light
  24. row — to paddle

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