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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. drill — the tool
  8. clip — for paper
  9. drill — army training
  10. bulb — for light
  11. clip — a video
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. bark — to shout
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. toast — bread
  23. date — the fruit
  24. drill — a practice

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