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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. object — an aim
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. bass — low music
  7. bulb — for light
  8. spell — a short time
  9. bulb — for light
  10. clip — a video
  11. mine — for digging
  12. root — of a plant
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. root — the cause
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. bass — the fish
  17. pitch — completely
  18. object — a thing
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — to cut
  22. root — of a word
  23. spell — letters
  24. spell — magic

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