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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. drill — army training
  3. clip — a video
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — of the year
  6. clip — to cut
  7. shower — to wash
  8. drill — the tool
  9. cap — of ice
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — in cards
  12. drill — a practice
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. bulb — for light
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cap — a hat
  17. clip — for paper
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. rash — hasty
  20. rash — a series
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. shower — rain
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — of a plant

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