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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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Word bank
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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: bear · fan · content · bulb · kick · cold · drill · dip

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. cold — not warm
  4. drill — the tool
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — the animal
  10. dip — to sink
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. drill — a practice
  13. drill — army training
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. content — the amount
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bulb — for light
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. content — happy

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