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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. roll — a cake
  5. bulb — for light
  6. mate — a friend
  7. prune — to trim
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. mate — to breed
  12. land — ground
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. bulb — for light
  15. prune — to trim
  16. land — to come down
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. roll — a list
  19. clip — a video
  20. mate — a partner
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. clip — to cut
  23. rash — hasty
  24. lash — an eyelash

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