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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. bulb — for light
  3. staff — employees
  4. craft — boats
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. row — a line
  8. bulb — for light
  9. race — a contest
  10. cap — a hat
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — to paddle
  13. craft — a skill
  14. cap — a lid
  15. race — the arms race
  16. staff — employees
  17. net — for catching
  18. net — after costs
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. cap — of ice
  21. clip — a video
  22. net — in sport
  23. race — humankind
  24. bulb — of a plant

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