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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. rash — a series
  3. cold — not warm
  4. ground — a position
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. ground — the earth
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bulb — for light
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bulb — for light
  15. ground — crushed
  16. mate — to breed
  17. file — a document
  18. mate — a partner
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. file — a tool
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. mate — a friend
  23. rash — hasty
  24. cold — the Cold War

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