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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: racket · bulb · fine · tear · jam · file · cell · present

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. file — a line of people
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. fine — all right
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. present — a gift
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. fine — high quality
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. bulb — for light
  15. file — a tool
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. cell — in biology
  18. present — the time now
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bulb — for light
  21. cell — a phone
  22. file — a document
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. cell — in a prison

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