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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. chest — a box
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. prune — to trim
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. snap — to click
  11. spring — a coil
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. chest — of your body
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. chest — of your body
  19. spring — the season
  20. prune — to trim
  21. spring — of water
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. kick — in football

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