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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. rule — government
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — of water
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. spring — the season
  10. plane — a tool
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. mark — a trace
  13. rule — a law
  14. bulb — for light
  15. clip — to cut
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. pitch — completely
  18. clip — a video
  19. fork — in a road
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bulb — for light
  24. mark — a grade

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