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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 116 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. stem — to come from
  3. bulb — for light
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. bound — certain
  6. sharp — clever
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bulb — for light
  9. clip — a video
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mine — for digging
  12. bear — the animal
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bound — tied together
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. clip — to cut
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. bear — the animal

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