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

Word bank: cold · snap · fall · mark · rest · racket · bulb · face

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. cold — an illness
  3. rest — what's left
  4. snap — to click
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. rest — a break
  7. face — part of the head
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. mark — a grade
  10. fall — to drop
  11. face — to point toward
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. fall — the season
  14. bulb — for light
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bulb — for light
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. rest — what's left
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cold — not warm
  21. face — to confront
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. cold — the Cold War

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