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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 116 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 cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. bulb — for light
  3. suit — to fit
  4. staff — employees
  5. game — wild animals
  6. clip — for paper
  7. staff — employees
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. land — to come down
  10. clip — to cut
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. capital — money
  14. bulb — for light
  15. suit — in cards
  16. land — a country
  17. shower — rain
  18. land — ground
  19. capital — a city
  20. shower — to wash
  21. staff — a stick
  22. game — a match
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. clip — a video

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