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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. cap — a lid
  4. row — a line
  5. bear — the animal
  6. cap — of ice
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. cap — a hat
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bound — certain
  16. bear — the animal
  17. row — to paddle
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. clip — to cut
  24. bat — the animal

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