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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. present — the time now
  8. bulb — for light
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. bulb — for light
  11. cold — not warm
  12. land — a country
  13. rest — what's left
  14. present — a gift
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. rest — a break
  17. rest — what's left
  18. land — ground
  19. mark — a trace
  20. present — there
  21. mark — a grade
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. cold — an illness
  24. land — to come down

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