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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. pit — a hole
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. root — of a word
  6. clip — a video
  7. saw — the tool
  8. clip — for paper
  9. saw — the tool
  10. kid — child
  11. bulb — for light
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. root — of a plant
  15. fall — to drop
  16. kid — to tease
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bulb — for light
  20. root — the cause
  21. fall — the season
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pit — in a race

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