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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: shower · kick · content · game · mate · saw · racket · bulb

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. content — happy
  3. bulb — for light
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. mate — a partner
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. saw — the tool
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. kick — in football
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. bulb — for light
  16. saw — the tool
  17. game — a match
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. mate — to breed
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. mate — a friend
  24. shower — rain

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