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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. clip — for paper
  3. spell — letters
  4. last — finally
  5. clip — a video
  6. bulb — for light
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. spell — magic
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. last — to go on
  13. rest — what's left
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. rest — a break
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. rest — what's left
  20. clip — to cut
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. spell — a short time
  23. last — final
  24. bulb — for light

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