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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. face — to confront
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bulb — for light
  7. degree — an amount
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. chest — of your body
  10. face — part of the head
  11. face — to point toward
  12. chest — a box
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — temperature
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. jam — in traffic

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