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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. land — to come down
  5. clip — a video
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. land — ground
  9. land — a country
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. perch — the fish
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wound — an injury
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bulb — for light
  17. sharp — clever
  18. plane — a tool
  19. clip — for paper
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wax — to grow
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. plane — an aircraft

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