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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 ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. cue — a hint
  5. cold — not warm
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. land — ground
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. land — a country
  10. cue — a signal
  11. net — for catching
  12. bulb — for light
  13. kid — to tease
  14. net — in sport
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. net — after costs
  17. bulb — for light
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. land — to come down
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kick — in football
  23. cue — for pool
  24. kid — child

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