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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. cold — an illness
  3. ball — a dance
  4. face — part of the head
  5. swing — music
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chair — a leader
  10. club — for dancing
  11. club — for golf
  12. face — to point toward
  13. face — to confront
  14. club — a group
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. bulb — for light
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. swing — to play on
  22. ball — a great time
  23. swing — in golf
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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