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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  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. wind — moving air
  2. drill — army training
  3. bulb — for light
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. drill — the tool
  6. chip — for betting
  7. game — a match
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. clip — for paper
  11. game — wild animals
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. drill — a practice
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — the fish
  16. chip — to eat
  17. wind — moving air
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. date — the fruit
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. clip — a video
  23. perch — for a bird
  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