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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. club — for dancing
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bulb — for light
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. face — part of the head
  11. club — a group
  12. rash — a series
  13. cold — an illness
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. rash — hasty
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. band — a ring
  18. face — to point toward
  19. face — to confront
  20. band — a music group
  21. club — for golf
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. nail — for a hammer

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