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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. squash — to crush
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wake — a trail
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. spring — a coil
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. spring — of water
  12. clip — to cut
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. pit — a hole
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. spring — the season
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. bulb — for light
  19. squash — the sport
  20. pit — in a race
  21. wax — to grow
  22. clip — a video
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. bulb — for light

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