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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. bulb — for light
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. bulb — for light
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. deal — to handle
  13. present — there
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cold — an illness
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. cold — not warm
  18. wind — moving air
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. present — a gift
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. present — the time now
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. straw — dry grass

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