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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. tear — from crying
  5. dip — to sink
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. tear — to rip
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. clip — to cut
  11. pass — a permit
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. clip — for paper
  14. spell — magic
  15. snap — to click
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. clip — a video
  18. content — happy
  19. content — the amount
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bulb — for light
  24. spell — letters

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