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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: march · present · cap · face · net · cold · bulb · game

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. present — a gift
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — after costs
  5. bulb — for light
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. face — to confront
  8. cap — a lid
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. face — to point toward
  11. face — part of the head
  12. cap — a hat
  13. game — wild animals
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. game — a match
  17. present — there
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bulb — for light
  20. march — the month
  21. cold — an illness
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. cap — of ice
  24. present — the time now

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