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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 light ________________ burned out.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. capital — a city
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — a video
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a ring
  10. snap — to click
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. bass — low music
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bass — the fish
  17. band — a music group
  18. track — a path
  19. plane — a tool
  20. capital — money
  21. track — to keep track
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. clip — for paper
  24. track — a song

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