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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. face — part of the head
  3. sharp — clever
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bass — the fish
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. branch — a division
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. shower — rain
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. face — to point toward
  13. bulb — for light
  14. cold — an illness
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. bass — low music
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — to wash
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. bulb — for light
  24. face — to confront

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