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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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. bulb — for light
  3. rash — hasty
  4. spell — letters
  5. spell — magic
  6. mark — a trace
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bound — tied together
  9. rash — a series
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. march — the month
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. spell — a short time
  14. rest — a break
  15. rest — what's left
  16. march — music
  17. bound — certain
  18. cold — an illness
  19. mark — a grade
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. march — the month
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bulb — for light

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