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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. bulb — for light
  3. clip — to cut
  4. lean — thin
  5. clip — a video
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. object — a thing
  8. clip — for paper
  9. lean — to bend
  10. object — to protest
  11. mug — to rob
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. mug — a cup
  16. bulb — for light
  17. march — the month
  18. spring — of water
  19. object — an aim
  20. march — the month
  21. mug — a face
  22. march — music
  23. spring — the season
  24. bulb — of a plant

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