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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. squash — the sport
  3. bulb — for light
  4. net — after costs
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. bulb — for light
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. squash — to crush
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. cap — a lid
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. fork — in a road
  13. wound — an injury
  14. cap — of ice
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. swing — to play on
  17. wound — an injury
  18. swing — in golf
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. cap — a hat
  22. net — for catching
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. swing — music

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