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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. bulb — for light
  3. wind — moving air
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. sharp — clever
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. bulb — for light
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. staff — a stick
  12. spring — the season
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wound — an injury
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. staff — employees
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. spring — of water
  21. wound — an injury
  22. spring — a coil
  23. staff — employees
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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