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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: cold · game · straw · lie · snap · temple · bulb · kick

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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. game — a match
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. game — wild animals
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. snap — to click
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. lie — to recline
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. kick — in football
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. bulb — for light
  20. cold — an illness
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. cold — not warm
  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