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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: swing · rule · fan · chest · fine · bulb · lean · bat

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bulb — for light
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bat — the animal
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. fine — all right
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. rule — government
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. rule — a law
  17. swing — music
  18. bulb — for light
  19. lean — thin
  20. chest — a box
  21. lean — to bend
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fine — high quality
  24. swing — in golf

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