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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. march — the month
  3. bank — for money
  4. spring — the season
  5. clip — for paper
  6. march — the month
  7. tube — the underground
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — for light
  11. march — music
  12. clip — a video
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. spring — of water
  15. spring — a coil
  16. rush — hurry
  17. bank — for money
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. tube — a container
  21. saw — the tool
  22. clip — to cut
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. bank — of a river

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