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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 120 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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. band — a music group
  3. bank — of a river
  4. bulb — for light
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. clip — to cut
  9. cue — a signal
  10. band — a ring
  11. cue — for pool
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. bank — for money
  14. bank — for money
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. clip — for paper
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bulb — for light
  19. squash — to crush
  20. snap — to click
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. clip — a video
  24. cue — a hint

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