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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 120 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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. spring — the season
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. swing — music
  5. kick — in football
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bear — the animal
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. bulb — for light
  11. current — of water
  12. current — happening now
  13. bear — the animal
  14. current — electric
  15. swing — in golf
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. spring — a coil
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. spring — of water
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. swing — to play on
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bulb — for light
  24. calf — of the leg

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