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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. race — humankind
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. clip — a video
  7. spring — the season
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. spring — a coil
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — farmland
  14. can — a tin
  15. clip — to cut
  16. can — a tin
  17. race — a contest
  18. spring — of water
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. race — the arms race
  21. field — for sport
  22. lean — to bend
  23. can — to be able to
  24. lean — thin

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