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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  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. clip — for paper
  2. last — finally
  3. drill — a practice
  4. bulb — for light
  5. prune — to trim
  6. drill — army training
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. current — of water
  9. chip — to eat
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. current — electric
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. drill — the tool
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. prune — to trim
  20. last — to go on
  21. current — happening now
  22. last — final
  23. chip — for betting
  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