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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. fall — to drop
  3. clip — for paper
  4. charge — electricity
  5. fall — the season
  6. clip — a video
  7. object — a thing
  8. bass — the fish
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bulb — for light
  11. charge — a price
  12. track — a song
  13. bass — low music
  14. charge — in control
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bulb — for light
  17. object — to protest
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. spring — a coil
  20. object — an aim
  21. track — a path
  22. track — to keep track
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. spring — of water

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