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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. bulb — for light
  5. chest — of your body
  6. spring — the season
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. spring — of water
  9. shower — rain
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. spring — a coil
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. chest — a box
  15. kick — in football
  16. chest — of your body
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. kick — a thrill

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