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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. press — to push
  6. ball — a great time
  7. last — to go on
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. mine — for digging
  10. press — a publisher
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. hand — help
  13. foot — a measure
  14. last — finally
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. press — newspapers
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. last — final
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — in cards
  22. bulb — for light
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. racket — a loud noise

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