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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 was locked up in a ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bulb — for light
  6. face — to confront
  7. perch — the fish
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. mine — for digging
  10. present — the time now
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. capital — a city
  13. face — to point toward
  14. present — a gift
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. bulb — for light
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. present — there
  20. cell — a phone
  21. kick — in football
  22. capital — money
  23. cell — in biology
  24. face — part of the head

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