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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. snap — to click
  3. charge — a price
  4. shower — to wash
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. cold — an illness
  7. toast — bread
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. bulb — for light
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. cold — not warm
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. charge — in control
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. charge — electricity
  20. bulb — for light
  21. capital — money
  22. shower — rain
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. calf — of the leg

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