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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  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. cold — an illness
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. cue — a hint
  4. clip — to cut
  5. cue — for pool
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cue — a signal
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. plane — a tool
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bulb — for light
  13. net — for catching
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bulb — for light
  17. net — after costs
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — the fish
  20. cold — not warm
  21. net — in sport
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. plane — in geometry
  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