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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: perch · bulb · pit · march · bat · clip · racket · season

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. bulb — for light
  5. clip — a video
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. pit — in a race
  8. season — of the year
  9. season — in sport
  10. pit — a hole
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. march — the month
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. bat — the animal
  20. clip — to cut
  21. march — the month
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. march — music
  24. perch — the fish

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