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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. mine — for digging
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. saw — the tool
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. clip — for paper
  8. mug — to rob
  9. bulb — for light
  10. rash — hasty
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. rash — a series
  14. mug — a cup
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mug — a face
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. clip — to cut
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. object — a thing
  21. object — to protest
  22. object — an aim
  23. clip — a video
  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