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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 120 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 light ________________ burned out.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. cap — a hat
  3. last — final
  4. bat — the animal
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. race — the arms race
  7. bass — the fish
  8. cap — of ice
  9. last — finally
  10. face — to confront
  11. cap — a lid
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. race — a contest
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. snap — to click
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to point toward
  20. bass — low music
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. last — to go on
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. race — humankind

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