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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: bound · bat · hide · rest · fan · spell · bulb · pitcher

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  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. bulb — of a plant
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. spell — a short time
  4. rest — a break
  5. spell — letters
  6. bat — the animal
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. bound — certain
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bulb — for light
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. rest — what's left
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. spell — magic
  22. bound — tied together
  23. rest — what's left
  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