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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. cap — of ice
  7. court — of a king
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. cap — a hat
  12. court — for sport
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. bulb — for light
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cell — a phone
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. wake — a trail
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. court — of law
  21. bulb — for light
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cap — a lid
  24. kick — in football

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