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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've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — for light
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. clip — to cut
  5. present — the time now
  6. fall — to drop
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. bass — the fish
  9. clip — for paper
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bass — low music
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. present — a gift
  14. rash — a series
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. fall — the season
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. clip — a video
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. rash — hasty
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. present — there
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. fan — to cool the air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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