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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: bay · lie · court · bulb · cold · scale · pitcher · kick

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. cold — an illness
  6. court — of law
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. lie — to recline
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. bulb — for light
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. kick — in football
  15. court — of a king
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. scale — in music
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. bulb — for light
  20. scale — size or range
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. court — for sport
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. cold — the Cold War

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