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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. wind — moving air
  3. court — of law
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — for light
  8. pop — soda
  9. court — for sport
  10. tube — the underground
  11. court — of a king
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. clip — a video
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. tube — a container
  18. mine — for digging
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. pop — music
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. pop — to visit
  24. tube — in a tire

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