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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: march · season · bulb · snap · chip · chest · mine · row

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. bulb — for light
  3. season — in sport
  4. chest — a box
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. chest — of your body
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. season — of the year
  14. chip — for betting
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. row — to paddle
  17. march — music
  18. snap — to click
  19. chest — of your body
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. bulb — for light
  22. row — a line
  23. chip — to eat
  24. bulb — of a plant

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