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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: pit · stand · hand · bulb · row · cold · racket · mate

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. bulb — for light
  3. mate — to breed
  4. pit — a hole
  5. hand — help
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. mate — a partner
  10. stand — to bear
  11. mate — a friend
  12. row — to paddle
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. cold — an illness
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. pit — in a race
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. bulb — for light
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. row — a line
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. hand — part of the body

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