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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. clip — a video
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. rule — a law
  5. kid — child
  6. rule — government
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. clip — for paper
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. bulb — for light
  11. suit — to fit
  12. capital — money
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. suit — in cards
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. suit — clothes
  19. clip — to cut
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. capital — a city
  23. mine — for digging
  24. nail — on a finger

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