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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bulb — for light
  4. staff — a stick
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. staff — employees
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. cold — not warm
  11. track — to keep track
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. lean — thin
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. track — a path
  17. lean — to bend
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. track — a song
  21. pitch — completely
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. bass — low music

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