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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. cold — an illness
  3. chair — a leader
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. tube — a container
  7. rest — what's left
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. scale — in music
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. rest — what's left
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bulb — for light
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. scale — size or range
  21. rest — a break
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. sharp — clever
  24. tube — the underground

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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