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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. bulb — for light
  3. clip — to cut
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. clip — for paper
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. firm — decided
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. pit — a hole
  13. firm — a company
  14. bulb — for light
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. spell — a short time
  17. spell — magic
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. cold — an illness
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. spell — letters
  22. clip — a video
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pit — in a race

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