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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 120 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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. field — farmland
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. shower — rain
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bulb — for light
  10. kick — in football
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. chest — a box
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. saw — the tool
  15. field — for sport
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. field — a subject
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. saw — the tool
  23. shower — to wash
  24. chest — of your body

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