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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. fall — to drop
  5. chest — a box
  6. file — a document
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. sharp — clever
  12. last — to go on
  13. file — a line of people
  14. last — final
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. fall — to drop
  17. file — a tool
  18. last — finally
  19. chest — of your body
  20. hand — in cards
  21. fall — the season
  22. hand — help
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bulb — for light

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