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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. capital — a city
  5. race — humankind
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. race — the arms race
  9. stem — to come from
  10. hand — help
  11. clip — for paper
  12. capital — money
  13. clip — to cut
  14. race — a contest
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. clip — a video
  17. bulb — for light
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. kick — in football
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — in cards
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. bulb — of a plant

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