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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 light ________________ burned out.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bear — the animal
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. press — to push
  6. bulb — for light
  7. race — a contest
  8. bear — the animal
  9. press — a publisher
  10. clip — for paper
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. race — the arms race
  13. stand — to bear
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. clip — a video
  16. snap — to click
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. shower — rain
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. clip — to cut
  21. press — newspapers
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. race — humankind

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