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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. ball — a dance
  5. court — of law
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. court — of a king
  8. kid — to tease
  9. firm — decided
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. bulb — for light
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. firm — steady
  14. ball — a great time
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. kid — child
  19. court — for sport
  20. bulb — for light
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. cold — not warm
  23. ball — a round shape
  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