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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. bulb — for light
  3. cold — not warm
  4. swing — music
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. rule — government
  7. swing — to play on
  8. mug — a cup
  9. file — a line of people
  10. rule — a law
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. snap — to click
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. file — a document
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. present — there
  17. mug — to rob
  18. present — a gift
  19. cold — an illness
  20. file — a tool
  21. bulb — for light
  22. swing — in golf
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. present — the time now

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