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

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. bulb — for light
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — for paper
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. fall — the season
  11. row — to paddle
  12. scale — in music
  13. bulb — for light
  14. scale — size or range
  15. fall — to drop
  16. row — a line
  17. fall — to drop
  18. clip — to cut

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