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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. object — to protest
  3. rest — a break
  4. object — a thing
  5. object — an aim
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of law
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. court — of a king
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. clip — a video
  14. cell — in biology
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. clip — to cut
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. rest — what's left
  20. plane — a tool
  21. bulb — for light
  22. cell — a phone
  23. rest — what's left
  24. clip — for paper

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