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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. net — in sport
  3. swing — in golf
  4. face — to confront
  5. bulb — for light
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. face — part of the head
  8. swing — to play on
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — the season
  11. face — to point toward
  12. mine — for digging
  13. swing — music
  14. bass — low music
  15. spring — of water
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bass — the fish
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. net — after costs
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. net — for catching
  24. bass — the instrument

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