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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. race — the arms race
  5. bulb — for light
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. pit — a hole
  8. mine — for digging
  9. race — a contest
  10. object — an aim
  11. object — a thing
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. bulb — for light
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. scale — size or range
  16. scale — in music
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. race — humankind
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. object — to protest
  21. pit — in a race
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — not warm
  24. snap — to click

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