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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. pop — music
  3. face — part of the head
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. bound — obliged
  6. face — to point toward
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bulb — for light
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. cold — not warm
  12. foot — a measure
  13. land — ground
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bound — certain
  16. pop — to visit
  17. face — to confront
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. land — to come down
  20. bulb — for light
  21. pop — soda
  22. land — a country
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bound — tied together

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