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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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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. mark — a trace
  3. rest — a break
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. ball — a great time
  7. rest — what's left
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. bulb — for light
  10. ball — a dance
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bulb — for light
  13. mark — a grade
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — not warm
  18. rest — what's left

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