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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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468
Word bank
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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. chair — a leader
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. track — a song
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. bulb — for light
  9. tear — to rip
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. kick — in football
  12. shower — to wash
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cell — in biology
  15. tear — from crying
  16. track — a path
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. bulb — for light
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. cell — a phone
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. shower — rain
  24. track — to keep track

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