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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've got to change the light ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. wound — an injury
  3. clip — a video
  4. net — for catching
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. cue — a signal
  7. clip — to cut
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. cue — a hint
  11. net — after costs
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. date — the fruit
  15. clip — for paper
  16. net — in sport
  17. cue — for pool
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bulb — for light
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — a trail
  24. date — on the calendar

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