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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. bulb — for light
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. spring — of water
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. clip — for paper
  9. drill — the tool
  10. clip — a video
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. bulb — for light
  13. rule — a law
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. drill — army training
  16. spring — the season
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a city
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. pound — a weight
  21. clip — to cut
  22. spring — a coil
  23. rule — government
  24. drill — a practice

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