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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. bulb — for light
  4. cold — an illness
  5. firm — a company
  6. firm — steady
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — child
  10. can — to be able to
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. cold — not warm
  15. mine — for digging
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. can — a tin
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. can — a tin

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