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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: cold · bulb · chest · rule · kick · roll · present · swing

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. bulb — for light
  3. rule — a law
  4. cold — not warm
  5. present — the time now
  6. rule — government
  7. swing — in golf
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. swing — to play on
  14. cold — an illness
  15. roll — a cake
  16. swing — music
  17. roll — a list
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. chest — a box
  20. present — a gift
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. kick — in football
  24. bulb — for light

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