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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. last — final
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bore — to tire
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. capital — money
  8. face — to confront
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a ring
  13. last — finally
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. last — to go on
  16. bulb — for light
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — a city
  19. face — part of the head
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. bore — to drill
  22. game — a match
  23. game — wild animals
  24. band — a rubber band

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