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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bound — obliged
  6. clip — a video
  7. field — farmland
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. field — a subject
  10. root — the cause
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. bound — certain
  13. root — of a plant
  14. clip — for paper
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. roll — a cake
  17. toast — bread
  18. root — of a word
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — the fruit
  21. bound — tied together
  22. field — for sport
  23. bulb — for light
  24. roll — a list

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