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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. game — a match
  3. cold — an illness
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. march — the month
  6. press — a publisher
  7. key — the most important part
  8. press — to push
  9. bulb — for light
  10. key — in music
  11. hand — help
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. cold — not warm
  15. press — newspapers
  16. bulb — for light
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. game — wild animals
  24. key — for a lock

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