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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. firm — a company
  3. bulb — for light
  4. can — a tin
  5. kid — child
  6. bear — the animal
  7. cold — an illness
  8. kid — to tease
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. mate — a partner
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. mate — a friend
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. can — a tin
  19. firm — steady
  20. mate — to breed
  21. can — to be able to
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bear — the animal

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