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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bulb · file · cold · ground · face · ball · court · rush

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. file — a line of people
  3. ground — crushed
  4. face — to confront
  5. ball — a great time
  6. rush — hurry
  7. face — to point toward
  8. cold — an illness
  9. file — a tool
  10. court — of law
  11. file — a document
  12. ground — the earth
  13. bulb — for light
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. ground — a position
  18. ball — a dance
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — for sport
  22. face — part of the head
  23. rush — to hurry
  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