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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. chest — of your body
  6. ground — a position
  7. rock — a stone
  8. clip — to cut
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. clip — a video
  12. chest — of your body
  13. clip — for paper
  14. rule — government
  15. bulb — for light
  16. season — of the year
  17. ground — the earth
  18. chest — a box
  19. kid — to tease
  20. rule — a law
  21. rock — music
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. ground — crushed
  24. season — in sport

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