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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bulb — for light
  3. staff — employees
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. fork — in a road
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. rock — a stone
  8. row — a line
  9. rock — music
  10. clip — a video
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. bulb — for light
  14. staff — a stick
  15. row — to paddle
  16. clip — to cut
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. staff — employees

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