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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 120 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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bulb — for light
  4. net — in sport
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. cold — not warm
  7. net — for catching
  8. mine — for digging
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. net — after costs
  13. ball — a great time
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. ball — a dance
  19. kick — in football
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. bulb — for light
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. cold — an illness

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