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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. current — of water
  3. rest — a break
  4. clip — for paper
  5. mug — a face
  6. kid — to tease
  7. clip — a video
  8. current — happening now
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a line
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. kid — child
  13. clip — to cut
  14. mug — a cup
  15. bulb — for light
  16. net — after costs
  17. net — for catching
  18. rest — what's left
  19. bulb — for light
  20. net — in sport
  21. current — electric
  22. mug — to rob
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. rest — what's left

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