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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. clip — for paper
  3. date — the fruit
  4. bulb — for light
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. roll — a cake
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. clip — to cut
  10. fork — in a road
  11. march — the month
  12. present — the time now
  13. march — the month
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. clip — a video
  16. present — there
  17. bulb — for light
  18. roll — a list
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. march — music
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. date — on the calendar

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