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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bulb — for light
  6. wound — an injury
  7. lean — to bend
  8. cold — not warm
  9. chest — of your body
  10. rule — government
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. chest — a box
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — an illness
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. rule — a law
  17. lean — thin
  18. wound — an injury

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