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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. track — a song
  3. snap — to click
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. prune — to trim
  8. cap — a lid
  9. cap — of ice
  10. bulb — for light
  11. track — to keep track
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cap — a hat
  15. prune — to trim
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. track — a path
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. bulb — for light
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — an illness

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