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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 120 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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. wound — an injury
  5. prune — to trim
  6. clip — for paper
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. clip — to cut
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. clip — a video
  11. file — a line of people
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. chip — for betting
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — for light
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. chip — to eat
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. file — a document
  23. prune — to trim
  24. file — a tool

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