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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. firm — decided
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bulb — for light
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — of the year
  7. season — in sport
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. mate — a friend
  11. bulb — for light
  12. sharp — clever
  13. mate — a partner
  14. band — a ring
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. firm — a company
  18. game — wild animals
  19. clip — to cut
  20. mate — to breed
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. game — a match
  23. band — a music group
  24. clip — a video

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