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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. bulb — for light
  4. shower — rain
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. bulb — for light
  9. march — the month
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. saw — the tool
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. band — a ring
  16. saw — the tool
  17. march — music
  18. band — a music group
  19. spring — the season
  20. shower — to wash
  21. spring — of water
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. march — the month

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