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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. ground — crushed
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. chip — for betting
  7. ground — a position
  8. march — music
  9. clip — a video
  10. ground — the earth
  11. march — the month
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. bulb — for light
  14. track — a path
  15. track — to keep track
  16. chip — to eat
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — after costs
  20. march — the month
  21. track — a song
  22. bulb — for light
  23. rush — hurry
  24. clip — for paper

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