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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — the time now
  3. ball — a great time
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. sharp — clever
  6. ball — a dance
  7. cold — not warm
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. snap — to click
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. present — there
  17. cold — an illness
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. season — in sport
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. bulb — for light
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. season — of the year

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