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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bulb — for light
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. kid — child
  6. last — finally
  7. kid — to tease
  8. march — the month
  9. kick — in football
  10. land — ground
  11. march — music
  12. last — final
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. wound — an injury
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. land — a country
  18. march — the month
  19. last — to go on
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. wound — an injury
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bulb — for light
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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