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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: bulb · shower · lean · chest · deal · cabinet · kick · bat

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. lean — to bend
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. lean — thin
  5. chest — of your body
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. chest — of your body
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. shower — rain
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. bulb — for light
  15. deal — to handle
  16. bulb — for light
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. kick — in football
  22. shower — to wash
  23. chest — a box
  24. bat — the animal

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