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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 116 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. The water is too ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. club — for dancing
  7. pitch — completely
  8. lie — to recline
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — the season
  12. club — a group
  13. bulb — for light
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. bulb — for light
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. club — for golf
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fork — in a road
  23. spring — of water
  24. cold — an illness

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