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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. stem — to come from
  3. march — the month
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. file — a tool
  6. march — music
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. march — the month
  9. game — wild animals
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. chest — a box
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. file — a document
  14. mark — a trace
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bulb — for light
  17. file — a line of people
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. mark — a grade
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. pitch — completely
  22. game — a match
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. chest — of your body

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