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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. file — a document
  3. prune — to trim
  4. clip — to cut
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. row — a line
  8. land — a country
  9. mug — a face
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. row — to paddle
  12. bulb — for light
  13. land — ground
  14. clip — for paper
  15. prune — to trim
  16. land — to come down
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. bulb — for light
  19. mug — to rob
  20. clip — a video
  21. mug — a cup
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a tool

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