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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 120 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 · mouse · kick · kid · court · nail · snap · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. court — of a king
  6. snap — to click
  7. bulb — for light
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. court — of law
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. kid — to tease
  15. shower — rain
  16. kid — child
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. kick — in football
  23. court — for sport
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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