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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 116 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bulb — for light
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — in biology
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. clip — a video
  11. cell — a phone
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. wax — to grow
  20. bulb — for light
  21. kick — in football
  22. clip — to cut
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. wax — for sculpting

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