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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 teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. roll — a list
  3. bulb — for light
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. bulb — for light
  7. clip — for paper
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. bound — certain
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bound — obliged
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. roll — a cake
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. bat — the animal
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bound — tied together
  21. rest — a break
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. rest — what's left
  24. bat — for baseball

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