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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. race — the arms race
  3. bulb — for light
  4. snap — to click
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. scale — size or range
  10. sharp — clever
  11. race — a contest
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. clip — a video
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. perch — the fish
  17. bulb — for light
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bark — to shout
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. scale — in music
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. race — humankind

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