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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. sharp — clever
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. branch — a division
  12. content — the amount
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. kick — in football
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bulb — for light
  20. content — happy
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. branch — of a tree

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