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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. bulb — for light
  3. kid — to tease
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. bulb — for light
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. march — the month
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. snap — to click
  10. kick — in football
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. kid — child
  17. march — the month
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. sharp — clever
  20. content — happy
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. content — the amount
  24. march — music

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