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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. clip — for paper
  6. object — a thing
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. can — a tin
  9. clip — a video
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. last — to go on
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bulb — for light
  16. can — to be able to
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. last — finally
  19. bulb — for light
  20. object — to protest
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. object — an aim
  23. last — final
  24. can — a tin

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