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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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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: jam · pitcher · cell · game · bat · club · trunk · bulb

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. game — wild animals
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bulb — for light
  8. club — for golf
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. club — a group
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. cell — a phone
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. game — a match
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. cell — in biology
  24. 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