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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.

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: present · season · snap · fan · row · bat · bulb · cue

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. snap — to click
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. present — a gift
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bat — the animal
  10. season — in sport
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. bulb — for light
  13. present — there
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bulb — for light
  17. present — the time now
  18. row — a line
  19. cue — a hint
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. row — to paddle
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. cue — a signal
  24. cue — for pool

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