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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: bulb · club · bat · pound · field · tube · file · snap

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. snap — to click
  4. club — for golf
  5. file — a document
  6. field — farmland
  7. club — for dancing
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. tube — the underground
  10. bulb — for light
  11. file — a tool
  12. file — a line of people
  13. tube — a container
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. field — for sport
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. bat — the animal
  21. field — a subject
  22. bulb — for light
  23. club — a group
  24. pound — to hit hard

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