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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. clip — for paper
  4. deal — to handle
  5. clip — to cut
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. press — newspapers
  11. cell — a phone
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. cell — in biology
  15. chip — to eat
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — an illness
  18. chip — for betting
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. press — to push
  21. press — a publisher
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. clip — a video

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