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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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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: field · bat · rule · bulb · chip · row · snap · saw

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bulb — for light
  3. snap — to click
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. chip — for betting
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. rule — government
  8. row — a line
  9. field — farmland
  10. saw — the tool
  11. chip — to eat
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. rule — a law
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. row — to paddle
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. field — a subject
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bulb — for light
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. field — for sport
  24. rule — to rule out

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