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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. band — a music group
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. band — a ring
  6. bulb — for light
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. stock — shares
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. capital — money
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. pitch — completely
  20. snap — to click
  21. stock — goods
  22. capital — a city
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. pitch — a sports field

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