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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. scale — size or range
  3. bulb — for light
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. club — a group
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. club — for golf
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bulb — for light
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — money
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. pass — a permit
  18. scale — in music
  19. rash — hasty
  20. cold — not warm
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. club — for dancing
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. rash — a series

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