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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. track — a song
  3. swing — to play on
  4. clip — for paper
  5. season — of the year
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. track — a path
  11. vault — a safe
  12. bulb — for light
  13. face — to point toward
  14. swing — music
  15. bore — to drill
  16. clip — a video
  17. bore — to tire
  18. face — part of the head
  19. bulb — for light
  20. season — in sport
  21. face — to confront
  22. track — to keep track
  23. swing — in golf
  24. clip — to cut

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