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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: kid · bulb · fan · cap · squash · temple · kick · lash

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. kid — child
  4. squash — the sport
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. cap — a hat
  11. squash — to crush
  12. kid — to tease
  13. cap — a lid
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. bulb — for light
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. bulb — for light
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. kick — in football
  24. bulb — of a plant

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