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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 light ________________ burned out.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. bulb — for light
  4. snap — to click
  5. mine — for digging
  6. degree — an amount
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. current — of water
  9. degree — from a university
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. current — happening now
  14. current — electric
  15. degree — temperature
  16. wind — moving air
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. kick — in football
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. deal — to handle

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