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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. fall — to drop
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cap — a lid
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. bulb — for light
  13. cap — of ice
  14. lean — to bend
  15. cap — a hat
  16. fall — to drop
  17. lean — thin
  18. ball — a great time
  19. chest — a box
  20. toast — bread
  21. bulb — for light
  22. ball — a dance
  23. fall — the season
  24. mine — belonging to me

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