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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 120 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. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. bulb — for light
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. fine — high quality
  5. land — ground
  6. clip — to cut
  7. deal — to handle
  8. bank — for money
  9. bulb — for light
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. land — to come down
  12. clip — a video
  13. fine — all right
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. clip — for paper
  16. land — a country
  17. mine — for digging
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. stem — to come from
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bank — of a river
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. bank — for money
  24. stem — a stem cell

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