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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · game · chair · season · bulb · club

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. club — for dancing
  3. chest — a box
  4. game — a match
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bulb — for light
  11. club — for golf
  12. game — wild animals
  13. chair — a leader
  14. season — in sport
  15. season — of the year
  16. club — a group
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. bulb — for light

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