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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: calf · bulb · leaves · kid · cell · bat · prune · net

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. cell — in biology
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bat — the animal
  5. prune — to trim
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. net — after costs
  9. kid — child
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — in sport
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. cell — a phone
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. bulb — for light
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. calf — of the leg

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