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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. drill — army training
  3. kid — to tease
  4. charge — electricity
  5. squash — to crush
  6. drill — the tool
  7. bulb — for light
  8. race — the arms race
  9. drill — a practice
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. race — humankind
  12. charge — a price
  13. squash — the sport
  14. bore — to tire
  15. race — a contest
  16. kid — child
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bore — to drill
  20. clip — for paper
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. bulb — for light
  24. charge — in control

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