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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. tear — from crying
  5. clip — to cut
  6. rock — a stone
  7. charge — a price
  8. stock — goods
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. stock — shares
  11. tear — to rip
  12. bulb — for light
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — for sport
  15. tear — from crying
  16. snap — to click
  17. field — farmland
  18. clip — for paper
  19. rock — music
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. charge — electricity
  23. charge — in control
  24. clip — a video

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