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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 116 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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. court — for sport
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. ball — a great time
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. court — of a king
  14. sharp — clever
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. bulb — for light
  19. ball — a dance
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. snap — to click
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cold — an illness
  24. court — of law

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