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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. face — to point toward
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bulb — for light
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bore — to tire
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bass — low music
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. face — to confront
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. craft — a skill
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. craft — boats
  18. face — part of the head
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. cold — an illness
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. fork — in a road

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