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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. spell — letters
  5. rush — hurry
  6. spell — magic
  7. net — for catching
  8. drill — army training
  9. bulb — for light
  10. net — in sport
  11. spell — a short time
  12. clip — for paper
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. rule — government
  15. rule — a law
  16. bulb — for light
  17. drill — a practice
  18. clip — to cut
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. drill — the tool
  21. clip — a video
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. pass — a permit

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