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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: object · cold · fan · patient · pitcher · lean · bat · bulb

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. bulb — for light
  3. object — to protest
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. lean — to bend
  6. object — a thing
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. bat — the animal
  14. cold — not warm
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. object — an aim
  17. bulb — for light
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. cold — an illness
  24. lean — thin

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