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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. lean — to bend
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. firm — steady
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. lean — thin
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. firm — decided
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. firm — a company
  15. hand — in cards
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bulb — for light
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. tube — a container
  20. bulb — for light
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — temperature
  23. tube — the underground
  24. cold — an illness

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