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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 124 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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. spell — letters
  4. fine — all right
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cap — of ice
  9. dip — to sink
  10. fine — high quality
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. spell — a short time
  14. bulb — for light
  15. swing — to play on
  16. swing — in golf
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. face — to point toward
  19. face — part of the head
  20. face — to confront
  21. cap — a hat
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. spell — magic
  24. bulb — for light

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