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

Word bank: swing · lean · bulb · bat · cell · deal · kick · patient

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. bulb — for light
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. swing — to play on
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. swing — music
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bat — the animal
  14. lean — to bend
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. deal — to handle
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. swing — in golf
  22. cell — in biology
  23. lean — thin
  24. kick — in football

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