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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. court — for sport
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. clip — to cut
  5. court — of law
  6. land — a country
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. mate — to breed
  10. land — to come down
  11. bulb — for light
  12. mate — a friend
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. clip — a video
  15. land — ground
  16. court — of a king
  17. bulb — for light
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. lie — to recline
  21. clip — for paper
  22. mate — a partner
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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