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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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. bulb — of a plant
  2. cold — an illness
  3. vault — a safe
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. face — to point toward
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. object — an aim
  8. snap — to click
  9. bulb — for light
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. capital — a city
  12. object — a thing
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. object — to protest
  15. face — to confront
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bulb — for light
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. capital — money
  23. cold — not warm
  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