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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 had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. bulb — for light
  4. roll — a list
  5. firm — decided
  6. chest — of your body
  7. face — to confront
  8. rest — what's left
  9. fall — to drop
  10. rest — what's left
  11. fall — to drop
  12. firm — a company
  13. rest — a break
  14. roll — a cake
  15. spring — the season
  16. bulb — for light
  17. fall — the season
  18. chest — a box
  19. chest — of your body
  20. face — to point toward
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — of water
  23. firm — steady
  24. roll — on a roll

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