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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 120 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: face · ball · straw · bulb · bass · land · rest · object

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. object — to protest
  3. object — a thing
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. land — ground
  6. bass — the fish
  7. rest — what's left
  8. bulb — for light
  9. ball — a great time
  10. land — a country
  11. ball — a dance
  12. land — to come down
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. bass — low music
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. rest — what's left
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. face — to confront
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. object — an aim
  22. face — to point toward
  23. face — part of the head
  24. rest — a break

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