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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've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. shower — rain
  6. bulb — for light
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. chair — a leader
  10. stem — to come from
  11. perch — the fish
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. shower — to wash
  16. kick — in football
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. stem — a stem cell

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