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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: ground · bulb · jam · fan · pitcher · rule · bank · chest

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. rule — a law
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bulb — for light
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. rule — government
  12. chest — of your body
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bulb — for light
  15. ground — a position
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bank — for money
  18. ground — the earth
  19. bank — for money
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. chest — a box
  23. bank — of a river
  24. ground — crushed

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