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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. fork — in a road
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. perch — the fish
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — for paper
  7. capital — money
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. capital — a city
  10. fine — all right
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. clip — a video
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. ball — a dance
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. cold — an illness
  18. ball — a great time
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. bulb — for light
  22. fine — high quality
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. fine — a penalty

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