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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 116 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bulb — for light
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bound — obliged
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. bulb — for light
  11. snap — to click
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. face — to point toward
  15. sharp — clever
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bound — certain
  20. cap — a lid
  21. face — to confront
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cap — of ice
  24. face — part of the head

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