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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: face · bulb · rule · squash · rash · hide · swing · cell

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. bulb — for light
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. face — to point toward
  6. swing — in golf
  7. face — to confront
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. squash — the sport
  13. swing — music
  14. cell — a phone
  15. rule — a law
  16. rash — hasty
  17. bulb — for light
  18. rash — a series
  19. rule — government
  20. swing — to play on
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. cell — in biology
  23. squash — to crush
  24. cell — in a prison

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