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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. cold — an illness
  3. game — a match
  4. bulb — for light
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. bulb — for light
  7. cold — not warm
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. rash — hasty
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. net — after costs
  17. game — wild animals
  18. net — in sport
  19. net — for catching
  20. chest — of your body
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. rash — a series
  24. chest — of your body

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