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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. face — to point toward
  3. key — in music
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. hand — help
  6. key — the most important part
  7. rest — what's left
  8. key — for a lock
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. rest — a break
  12. face — to confront
  13. face — part of the head
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. rest — what's left
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bulb — for light
  19. ground — a position
  20. snap — to click
  21. ground — crushed
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. ground — the earth

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