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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: bulb · kid · vault · temple · cold · nail · pitch · pop

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. pop — music
  3. kid — child
  4. vault — a safe
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pop — to visit
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pop — soda
  15. cold — not warm
  16. pitch — completely
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. kid — to tease
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. cold — an illness
  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