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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. bulb — for light
  4. pass — a permit
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. clip — a video
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. track — a path
  13. track — a song
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. track — to keep track
  16. rule — a law
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. bulb — for light
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. clip — to cut
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. rule — government
  24. nail — for a hammer

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