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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  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. bulb — for light
  2. race — humankind
  3. game — a match
  4. bear — the animal
  5. game — wild animals
  6. cold — an illness
  7. race — the arms race
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bear — the animal
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. chair — a leader
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. saw — the tool
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. race — a contest
  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