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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: chest · lie · cell · game · dip · date · bulb · kick

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bulb — for light
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. chest — a box
  5. cell — a phone
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. date — the fruit
  8. lie — to recline
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — a match
  12. game — wild animals
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. kick — in football
  19. bulb — for light
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. chest — of your body
  22. dip — to sink
  23. cell — in biology
  24. kick — with a 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