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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. tube — a container
  3. spell — magic
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — a video
  6. tube — the underground
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. file — a tool
  11. clip — for paper
  12. spell — a short time
  13. bulb — for light
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pound — a weight
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. shower — to wash
  19. file — a line of people
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. shower — rain
  22. spell — letters
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. file — a document

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