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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. game — a match
  7. bulb — for light
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. scale — in music
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. game — wild animals
  13. bulb — for light
  14. march — the month
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. chest — of your body
  17. scale — size or range
  18. march — music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. chest — of your body
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. march — the month
  23. chest — a box
  24. leaves — of a tree

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