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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. rush — hurry
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. land — ground
  19. lie — to recline
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bulb — for light
  22. land — a country
  23. land — to come down
  24. wave — with your hand

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