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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  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. mark — a trace
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. mark — a grade
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. race — humankind
  8. staff — employees
  9. bulb — for light
  10. clip — for paper
  11. fine — all right
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. clip — a video
  14. fine — high quality
  15. race — a contest
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. staff — a stick
  18. cold — not warm
  19. race — the arms race
  20. clip — to cut
  21. cold — an illness
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. staff — employees
  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