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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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — in football
  3. hand — in cards
  4. rest — a break
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. bulb — for light
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. rest — what's left
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. rest — what's left
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. hand — help
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. bulb — for light
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. content — happy
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — the amount

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