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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. bulb — for light
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. present — there
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. ball — a dance
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. present — the time now
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. present — a gift
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. bulb — for light
  23. ball — a great time
  24. bulb — of a plant

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