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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 120 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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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. file — a tool
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. bulb — for light
  5. clip — a video
  6. file — a document
  7. chest — of your body
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — rain
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. chest — of your body
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. chest — a box
  18. rule — a law
  19. clip — for paper
  20. rule — government
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. file — a line of people
  23. clip — to cut
  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