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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: game · bulb · chest · fall · craft · spell · bat · board

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. game — a match
  4. board — a committee
  5. fall — to drop
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bat — the animal
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. board — to get on
  14. spell — letters
  15. chest — of your body
  16. fall — to drop
  17. spell — magic
  18. spell — a short time
  19. fall — the season
  20. craft — boats
  21. bulb — for light
  22. craft — a skill
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. game — wild animals

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