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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bulb — for light
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. bulb — for light
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. cold — not warm
  9. capital — a city
  10. face — to confront
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. face — to point toward
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. bat — the animal
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. face — part of the head
  20. capital — money
  21. pass — a permit
  22. cold — an illness
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. pass — to spend time

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