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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: clip · shower · bulb · date · field · pit · ruler · jam

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. field — a subject
  5. pit — in a race
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. field — for sport
  9. clip — for paper
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. clip — a video
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. bulb — for light
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. shower — rain
  17. field — farmland
  18. shower — to wash
  19. date — the fruit
  20. pit — a hole
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. clip — to cut
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. date — on the calendar

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