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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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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: season · bulb · present · pop · deal · hand · last · face

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. last — final
  4. season — in sport
  5. deal — to handle
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. present — the time now
  8. pop — to visit
  9. face — to confront
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. present — there
  13. pop — music
  14. hand — help
  15. face — part of the head
  16. bulb — for light
  17. present — a gift
  18. face — to point toward
  19. season — of the year
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. bulb — for light
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — finally
  24. pop — soda

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