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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. clip — for paper
  3. net — after costs
  4. clip — to cut
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. hand — help
  7. root — of a word
  8. present — there
  9. net — in sport
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. net — for catching
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. root — of a plant
  16. root — the cause
  17. hand — in cards
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. clip — a video
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — for light
  23. present — the time now
  24. hand — part of the body

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