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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. last — finally
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. chest — a box
  6. wind — moving air
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wake — a trail
  9. last — final
  10. clip — a video
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. last — to go on
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. tear — to rip
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bulb — for light
  22. clip — for paper
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bay — a horse colour

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