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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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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: wind · cell · snap · saw · bulb · pitcher · date · chest

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. date — the fruit
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — a phone
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. cell — in biology
  7. saw — the tool
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. snap — to click
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. chest — a box
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bulb — for light
  19. wind — moving air
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. saw — the tool
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. bulb — for light

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