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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. chest — of your body
  3. kid — to tease
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. chest — of your body
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. rock — a stone
  9. chest — a box
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. bulb — for light
  13. rush — hurry
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. degree — temperature
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. degree — from a university
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. degree — an amount
  21. kid — child
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. toast — bread
  24. rock — music

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