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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. kid — child
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. bulb — for light
  10. mark — a grade
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. stand — to bear
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. bat — the animal
  18. mark — a trace
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bulb — for light

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