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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. pound — a weight
  3. clip — a video
  4. bulb — for light
  5. clip — to cut
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. mark — a trace
  10. bulb — for light
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. mine — for digging
  13. field — a subject
  14. mark — a grade
  15. field — for sport
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. ground — crushed
  18. ground — a position
  19. clip — for paper
  20. field — farmland
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. ground — the earth
  23. bear — the animal
  24. mine — belonging to me

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