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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. foot — a measure
  3. bulb — for light
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cell — a phone
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. key — for a lock
  9. bulb — for light
  10. key — the most important part
  11. land — ground
  12. cell — in biology
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. land — a country
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. land — to come down
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. key — in music
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. board — to get on
  24. board — a committee

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