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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. kick — in football
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. saw — the tool
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. bulb — for light
  8. cold — an illness
  9. rest — what's left
  10. saw — the tool
  11. clip — for paper
  12. foot — a measure
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. rest — what's left
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — to cut
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. rest — a break
  21. cold — not warm
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. snap — to click
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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