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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: hide · bear · date · bulb · roll · straw · stick · face

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bulb — for light
  4. face — to point toward
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. bear — the animal
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. roll — a list
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. bulb — for light
  15. roll — a cake
  16. date — the fruit
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. face — to confront
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. hide — animal skin

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