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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 116 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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. swing — in golf
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. swing — music
  6. swing — to play on
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. dip — to sink
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. last — to go on
  12. cold — not warm
  13. face — to point toward
  14. cold — an illness
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. track — to keep track
  17. last — final
  18. track — a song
  19. last — finally
  20. face — part of the head
  21. bulb — for light
  22. face — to confront
  23. bulb — for light
  24. track — a path

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