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

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. shower — to wash
  4. cell — in biology
  5. content — the amount
  6. bore — to drill
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. content — happy
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. cell — a phone
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bore — to tire
  18. shower — rain
  19. bulb — for light
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bulb — for light
  24. mouse — the animal

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