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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. clip — a video
  3. bulb — for light
  4. band — a ring
  5. clip — for paper
  6. branch — a division
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. band — a music group
  14. snap — to click
  15. land — ground
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. clip — to cut
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. land — to come down
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. bulb — for light
  24. band — a rubber band

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