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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. land — a country
  5. rest — what's left
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. lean — thin
  8. land — ground
  9. clip — a video
  10. pit — a hole
  11. bulb — for light
  12. clip — to cut
  13. lean — to bend
  14. spell — letters
  15. rest — a break
  16. clip — for paper
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. bulb — for light
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. pit — in a race
  21. spell — a short time
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. spell — magic
  24. rest — what's left

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