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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. net — after costs
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. key — the most important part
  5. bulb — for light
  6. key — in music
  7. march — the month
  8. net — in sport
  9. march — the month
  10. pop — to visit
  11. pop — soda
  12. chip — for betting
  13. pop — music
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. rash — hasty
  16. bulb — for light
  17. march — music
  18. net — for catching
  19. chip — to eat
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. rash — a series
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — the animal
  24. key — for a lock

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