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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. scale — in music
  3. face — to confront
  4. face — part of the head
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. pit — a hole
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. bulb — for light
  10. hand — help
  11. game — a match
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. scale — size or range
  15. swing — to play on
  16. pit — in a race
  17. face — to point toward
  18. swing — music
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. swing — in golf
  22. hand — in cards
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. game — wild animals

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