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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — for light
  3. chip — to eat
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. face — to confront
  7. spring — a coil
  8. cap — of ice
  9. spring — the season
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. face — part of the head
  14. face — to point toward
  15. cap — a hat
  16. clip — to cut
  17. cap — a lid
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. kick — in football
  20. chip — for betting
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. spring — of water
  24. clip — a video

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