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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kick · tear · ground · straw · bulb · present · snap · rule

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. ground — crushed
  5. present — there
  6. snap — to click
  7. ground — the earth
  8. tear — from crying
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. rule — government
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. present — a gift
  14. ground — a position
  15. bulb — for light
  16. present — the time now
  17. kick — in football
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tear — from crying
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. bulb — for light
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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