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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 116 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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. rush — hurry
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. clip — for paper
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. clip — a video
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. clip — to cut
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. game — a match
  17. bulb — for light
  18. game — wild animals
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. tube — a container
  21. bulb — for light
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. plane — a tool
  24. dip — to sink

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