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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 120 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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. tear — from crying
  3. key — the most important part
  4. bulb — for light
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. clip — for paper
  7. cell — in biology
  8. tear — to rip
  9. pitch — completely
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. court — of a king
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. tear — from crying
  14. court — of law
  15. clip — a video
  16. key — in music
  17. wound — an injury
  18. key — for a lock
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wound — an injury
  21. court — for sport
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. clip — to cut

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