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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. bore — to drill
  4. chest — a box
  5. ball — a dance
  6. cold — an illness
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. bulb — for light
  9. kick — in football
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. scale — size or range
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cold — not warm
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. ball — a great time
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bulb — for light
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. chest — of your body
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. scale — in music

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