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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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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: cold · bulb · bass · dip · bowl · tear · face · snap

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bass — the fish
  4. tear — from crying
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bass — low music
  12. face — to point toward
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. snap — to click
  16. face — part of the head
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — an illness
  20. face — to confront
  21. dip — to sink
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. tear — to rip
  24. bowl — a dish

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