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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. bulb — for light
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. craft — a skill
  5. clip — a video
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. craft — boats
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. cold — an illness
  10. net — for catching
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bulb — for light
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — after costs
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — to cut

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