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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. bulb — for light
  5. dip — to sink
  6. row — to paddle
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. track — a song
  10. pass — a permit
  11. row — a line
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. bulb — for light
  14. kid — child
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. track — a path
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. track — to keep track

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