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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. clip — to cut
  3. track — to keep track
  4. row — to paddle
  5. wind — moving air
  6. date — the fruit
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. track — a path
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. row — a line
  16. bulb — for light
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. clip — a video
  22. track — a song
  23. clip — for paper
  24. wind — moving air

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