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

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. bass — the fish
  5. season — in sport
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. pop — music
  8. kid — to tease
  9. clip — for paper
  10. kid — child
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. clip — to cut
  14. season — of the year
  15. bound — certain
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. rush — hurry
  19. pop — to visit
  20. pop — soda
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bass — low music
  24. clip — a video

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