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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bat — the animal
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bulb — for light
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. kid — to tease
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. chair — a leader
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. bulb — for light
  19. cold — an illness
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. kid — child
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. temple — a place of worship

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