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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. land — to come down
  3. bulb — for light
  4. craft — a skill
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. rest — what's left
  8. net — for catching
  9. net — in sport
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. row — a line
  12. rest — what's left
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bulb — for light
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. craft — boats
  19. land — ground
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. rest — a break
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. net — after costs
  24. land — a country

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