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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. cell — in biology
  5. tear — to rip
  6. clip — to cut
  7. can — to be able to
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mate — a friend
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. bulb — for light
  12. can — a tin
  13. bulb — for light
  14. mate — a partner
  15. scale — size or range
  16. tear — from crying
  17. clip — for paper
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. clip — a video
  22. mate — to breed
  23. can — a tin
  24. cell — a phone

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