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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 116 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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. swing — music
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bulb — for light
  5. land — ground
  6. clip — to cut
  7. saw — the tool
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. clip — a video
  10. chair — a leader
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — a country
  14. swing — in golf
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — an injury
  17. swing — to play on
  18. clip — for paper
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bulb — for light
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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