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

Word bank: chest · arm · season · bear · bat · bulb

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bulb — for light
  6. chest — of your body
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. bear — the animal
  11. chest — a box
  12. bear — the animal
  13. season — in sport
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. season — of the year
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. bat — for baseball

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