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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 120 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: pitcher · temple · pit · fork · bulb · race · cold · bat

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. bulb — for light
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cold — an illness
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. fork — in a road
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. race — humankind
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — the animal
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. race — the arms race
  22. pit — in a race
  23. bulb — for light
  24. fork — a garden tool

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