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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  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. chair — to sit on
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. track — a path
  4. race — a contest
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — for paper
  7. race — the arms race
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. net — after costs
  10. firm — a company
  11. net — in sport
  12. wax — to grow
  13. race — humankind
  14. track — to keep track
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bulb — for light
  19. track — a song
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. firm — decided
  22. net — for catching
  23. firm — steady
  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