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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. pound — a weight
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pit — a hole
  7. bulb — for light
  8. clip — for paper
  9. rest — what's left
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. season — in sport
  15. row — to paddle
  16. bat — the animal
  17. row — a line
  18. season — of the year
  19. clip — a video
  20. rest — what's left
  21. pit — in a race
  22. rest — a break
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bulb — of a plant

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