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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · mark · pit · hand · wound · chip · plane · file

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. chip — for betting
  4. wound — an injury
  5. plane — a tool
  6. mark — a grade
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. bulb — for light
  9. file — a tool
  10. mark — a trace
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. chip — to eat
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. hand — in cards
  15. bulb — for light
  16. pit — in a race
  17. pit — a hole
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. hand — help
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a line of people
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. wound — an injury
  24. plane — an aircraft

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