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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 116 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 water is too ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bulb — for light
  3. fall — to drop
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. cold — an illness
  9. fall — to drop
  10. rash — a series
  11. wound — an injury
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bulb — for light
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. fall — the season
  18. rash — hasty

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