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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 116 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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. cue — a hint
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. bulb — for light
  9. kick — in football
  10. land — ground
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. land — to come down
  14. kid — child
  15. cue — a signal
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bulb — for light
  18. cue — for pool

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