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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. bulb — for light
  3. content — the amount
  4. net — in sport
  5. pass — a permit
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. kid — child
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. kid — to tease
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — after costs
  17. shower — to wash
  18. bulb — for light
  19. content — happy
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. shower — rain
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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