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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. bulb — for light
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. date — the fruit
  5. clip — a video
  6. craft — a skill
  7. rush — hurry
  8. craft — boats
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. scale — in music
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. bulb — for light
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. clip — for paper
  21. scale — size or range
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. chair — a leader
  24. clip — to cut

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