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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. clip — for paper
  4. kid — to tease
  5. clip — to cut
  6. game — a match
  7. bulb — for light
  8. wound — an injury
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. net — for catching
  11. game — wild animals
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. lean — thin
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. lean — to bend
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. net — after costs
  21. kid — child
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. clip — a video
  24. net — in sport

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