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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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. degree — an amount
  3. swing — in golf
  4. face — to point toward
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. face — part of the head
  7. bulb — for light
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. cap — of ice
  11. swing — to play on
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — temperature
  14. cap — a lid
  15. spring — of water
  16. cap — a hat
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bulb — for light
  22. face — to confront
  23. cold — an illness
  24. swing — music

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