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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. cold — an illness
  3. hand — in cards
  4. drill — a practice
  5. bulb — for light
  6. club — for dancing
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. club — a group
  10. mate — a partner
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. drill — the tool
  15. bulb — for light
  16. dip — to sink
  17. club — for golf
  18. mate — a friend
  19. drill — army training
  20. wake — a trail
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  24. mate — to breed

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