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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. face — to confront
  3. rash — a series
  4. drill — the tool
  5. chest — a box
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. drill — a practice
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bulb — for light
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. chest — of your body
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. drill — army training
  15. face — to point toward
  16. game — wild animals
  17. bulb — for light
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. rash — hasty
  20. game — a match
  21. prune — to trim
  22. chest — of your body
  23. date — the fruit
  24. bulb — of a plant

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