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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. rash — hasty
  3. ground — a position
  4. rash — a series
  5. bulb — for light
  6. club — for dancing
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. key — the most important part
  10. key — in music
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. snap — to click
  15. cold — not warm
  16. ground — the earth
  17. club — for golf
  18. ground — crushed
  19. cold — an illness
  20. fall — to drop
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. key — for a lock
  23. fall — the season
  24. club — a group

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