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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 120 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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bulb — for light
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. swing — to play on
  6. mug — to rob
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. clip — for paper
  10. tear — to rip
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bulb — for light
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. clip — a video
  15. tear — from crying
  16. swing — in golf
  17. clip — to cut
  18. mug — a face
  19. saw — the tool
  20. mug — a cup
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. content — happy
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. swing — music

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