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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. shower — rain
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. wake — a trail
  6. shower — to wash
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. kick — in football
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — the animal
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. bulb — for light
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. lie — to recline

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