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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. capital — a city
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. clip — a video
  14. bass — low music
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bulb — for light
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bass — the fish
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cold — not warm
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a big letter

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