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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 116 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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. bulb — for light
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. prune — to trim
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. wind — moving air
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. bulb — for light
  12. pop — music
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pop — soda
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. wind — moving air
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. cold — an illness
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. board — to get on
  22. board — a committee
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. lash — an eyelash

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