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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. wind — moving air
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. ball — a great time
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. cold — not warm
  13. wind — moving air
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. ball — a dance
  17. cold — an illness
  18. march — the month
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bulb — for light
  24. safe — out of danger

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