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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 124 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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. lean — thin
  6. wind — moving air
  7. court — of law
  8. bulb — for light
  9. court — for sport
  10. last — final
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. bulb — for light
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. last — finally
  15. deal — to handle
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. lean — to bend
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. wind — moving air
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. last — to go on
  22. court — of a king
  23. cold — an illness
  24. deal — a big deal

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