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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. rule — government
  3. chest — of your body
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. chest — a box
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. clip — a video
  9. band — a ring
  10. band — a music group
  11. bulb — for light
  12. scale — in music
  13. present — a gift
  14. chest — of your body
  15. land — to come down
  16. scale — size or range
  17. land — ground
  18. present — there
  19. present — the time now
  20. rule — a law
  21. clip — for paper
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. land — a country
  24. rule — to rule out

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