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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. land — ground
  3. clip — a video
  4. roll — a cake
  5. land — to come down
  6. swing — to play on
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. swing — in golf
  11. saw — the tool
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. clip — to cut
  17. swing — music
  18. land — a country
  19. chair — a leader
  20. bear — the animal
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. roll — a list
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — for light

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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