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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. clip — to cut
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. net — after costs
  6. current — of water
  7. land — a country
  8. clip — for paper
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. bulb — for light
  11. saw — the tool
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. net — for catching
  15. land — ground
  16. bulb — for light
  17. current — electric
  18. squash — the sport
  19. land — to come down
  20. net — in sport
  21. saw — the tool
  22. clip — a video
  23. squash — to crush
  24. current — happening now

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