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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. bulb — for light
  3. mug — to rob
  4. cell — a phone
  5. staff — employees
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. chip — to eat
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. cold — not warm
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. plane — a tool
  15. cell — in biology
  16. chip — for betting
  17. staff — employees
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bulb — for light
  21. cold — an illness
  22. mug — a cup
  23. staff — a stick
  24. snap — to click

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