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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. 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. land — ground
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bulb — for light
  4. clip — a video
  5. mark — a trace
  6. bass — low music
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — help
  10. land — a country
  11. pop — to visit
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. face — to confront
  14. clip — for paper
  15. face — to point toward
  16. bass — the fish
  17. mark — a grade
  18. land — to come down
  19. face — part of the head
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. pop — music
  23. pop — soda
  24. 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