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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. chest — of your body
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. chest — of your body
  5. cold — not warm
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. current — electric
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — finally
  11. game — wild animals
  12. firm — a company
  13. game — a match
  14. current — happening now
  15. firm — decided
  16. chest — a box
  17. firm — steady
  18. season — of the year
  19. last — final
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bulb — for light
  23. current — of water
  24. season — in sport

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