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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. cell — a phone
  3. land — to come down
  4. pitch — completely
  5. sharp — clever
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bulb — for light
  8. cell — in biology
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. wind — moving air
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. land — ground
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — to cut
  18. land — a country
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. dip — to sink
  22. wind — moving air
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. bulb — for light

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