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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. mark — a trace
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. last — to go on
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. last — finally
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. last — final
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. sharp — clever
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. mark — a grade
  19. wound — an injury
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cold — not warm
  24. sharp — exactly

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