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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. bulb — for light
  5. file — a line of people
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. object — to protest
  10. file — a document
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. file — a tool
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. object — an aim
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. object — a thing
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. coach — a trainer

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