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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bulb — for light
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. clip — a video
  7. band — a music group
  8. mine — for digging
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. band — a ring
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bulb — for light
  14. ground — the earth
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. ground — crushed
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. field — a subject
  19. clip — for paper
  20. field — farmland
  21. ground — a position
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. field — for sport
  24. scale — size or range

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