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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. file — a tool
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. spell — letters
  6. rush — hurry
  7. file — a document
  8. chip — for betting
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bulb — for light
  11. file — a line of people
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. bulb — for light
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. spell — magic
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. spell — a short time
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. chip — in a computer

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