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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. cap — a hat
  6. bulb — for light
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. chest — of your body
  11. game — wild animals
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. lie — to recline
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. chest — of your body
  17. game — a match
  18. bulb — for light
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. chest — a box
  21. swing — in golf
  22. swing — music
  23. swing — to play on
  24. cap — a lid

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