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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. land — to come down
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bulb — for light
  5. net — in sport
  6. pit — a hole
  7. clip — a video
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bound — certain
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. land — ground
  13. net — for catching
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bark — to shout
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. pit — in a race
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. land — a country
  21. bound — tied together
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. net — after costs

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