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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 water is too ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. bulb — for light
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bass — the fish
  6. season — of the year
  7. bass — low music
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. face — part of the head
  11. season — in sport
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bulb — for light
  14. cold — an illness
  15. object — to protest
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. last — final
  18. last — to go on
  19. object — a thing
  20. last — finally
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — to point toward
  24. object — an aim

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