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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've got to change the light ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. capital — money
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. clip — to cut
  6. mate — a friend
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. mate — a partner
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. clip — for paper
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. clip — a video
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. scale — size or range
  17. mate — to breed
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. bulb — for light
  22. scale — in music
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. bat — for baseball

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