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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 light ________________ burned out.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. season — of the year
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. net — for catching
  7. deal — to handle
  8. clip — for paper
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. snap — to click
  11. drill — army training
  12. net — after costs
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. drill — a practice
  15. clip — a video
  16. season — in sport
  17. net — in sport
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. drill — the tool
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bulb — for light
  24. racket — for tennis

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