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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. object — an aim
  4. capital — money
  5. bulb — for light
  6. pop — soda
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pop — music
  9. bat — the animal
  10. capital — a city
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. object — to protest
  14. wind — moving air
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. pit — a hole
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. pit — in a race
  21. pop — to visit
  22. bulb — for light
  23. object — a thing
  24. bulb — of a plant

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