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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. face — part of the head
  3. ground — crushed
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. cap — a hat
  6. spell — letters
  7. bulb — for light
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. ground — a position
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. face — to confront
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. face — to point toward
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. spell — a short time
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. bulb — for light
  18. spell — magic
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. fork — in a road
  22. cap — a lid
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. ground — the earth

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