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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. clip — for paper
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. key — the most important part
  5. craft — a skill
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. craft — boats
  9. chest — a box
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. bulb — for light
  12. key — in music
  13. clip — a video
  14. chest — of your body
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. race — a contest
  18. key — for a lock
  19. race — the arms race
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bulb — for light
  22. clip — to cut
  23. race — humankind
  24. rush — hurry

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