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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. spring — the season
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bulb — for light
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. club — a group
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. club — for golf
  9. clip — a video
  10. ground — crushed
  11. bulb — for light
  12. rush — hurry
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. ground — the earth
  16. club — for dancing
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. spring — of water
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. clip — for paper
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. ground — a position
  24. spring — a coil

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