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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. race — humankind
  4. ball — a great time
  5. clip — a video
  6. hand — help
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. clip — to cut
  10. race — a contest
  11. ball — a dance
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. date — the fruit
  17. clip — for paper
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bulb — for light
  22. hand — in cards
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. race — the arms race

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