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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. bound — obliged
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bulb — for light
  9. game — a match
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — help
  14. ground — a position
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. clip — a video
  17. bound — tied together
  18. game — wild animals
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. clip — to cut
  21. ground — the earth
  22. bound — certain
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. clip — for paper

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