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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. roll — a cake
  3. clip — for paper
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. game — wild animals
  6. pop — to visit
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. roll — a list
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. pop — music
  13. game — a match
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. bulb — for light
  16. clip — a video
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — the tool
  20. pop — soda
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bat — the animal
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. bulb — for light

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