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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. rock — a stone
  4. cold — an illness
  5. spell — letters
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — magic
  8. snap — to click
  9. capital — a city
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. bulb — for light
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. rock — music
  14. kick — in football
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. capital — money
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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