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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. march — the month
  3. bulb — for light
  4. net — in sport
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. bulb — for light
  7. clip — to cut
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. pitch — completely
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. clip — for paper
  13. present — a gift
  14. present — the time now
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. clip — a video
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. march — the month
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. march — music
  21. net — for catching
  22. mine — for digging
  23. net — after costs
  24. mine — belonging to me

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