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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. ball — a dance
  3. race — the arms race
  4. bulb — for light
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. clip — for paper
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. race — humankind
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. clip — a video
  15. race — a contest
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. ball — a great time
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — a practice
  21. foot — a measure
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. drill — army training

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