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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. club — for dancing
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bulb — for light
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. clip — to cut
  9. club — a group
  10. club — for golf
  11. can — a tin
  12. lie — to recline
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. can — a tin
  20. can — to be able to
  21. kick — in football
  22. clip — a video
  23. bat — the animal
  24. lie — an untruth

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