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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. cold — not warm
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bulb — for light
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. mark — a trace
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. cold — an illness
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bulb — for light
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. wake — a trail
  24. straw — a straw man

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