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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. bulb — for light
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. chest — of your body
  5. board — a committee
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. clip — to cut
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. clip — for paper
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. shower — to wash
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. shower — rain
  15. chest — of your body
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. chest — a box
  20. clip — a video
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. bulb — for light
  24. board — to get on

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