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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. rash — hasty
  6. charge — electricity
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bulb — for light
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. cold — an illness
  12. face — to confront
  13. ground — a position
  14. charge — a price
  15. face — part of the head
  16. face — to point toward
  17. clip — for paper
  18. ground — crushed
  19. clip — a video
  20. rash — a series
  21. charge — in control
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bulb — for light
  24. clip — to cut

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