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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: row · face · bulb · firm · cold · deal · object · kick

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. firm — steady
  4. object — a thing
  5. firm — decided
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bulb — for light
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. row — to paddle
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — an illness
  16. object — an aim
  17. bulb — for light
  18. face — to point toward
  19. row — a line
  20. firm — a company
  21. kick — in football
  22. object — to protest
  23. face — part of the head
  24. deal — to handle

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