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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — final
  3. bulb — for light
  4. swing — to play on
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. last — finally
  7. bulb — for light
  8. wound — an injury
  9. chest — a box
  10. wound — an injury
  11. swing — music
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. swing — in golf
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — of your 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