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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: stem · bulb · racket · rule · ground · pop · pit · clip

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. pop — soda
  5. pop — music
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. clip — to cut
  10. ground — crushed
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. rule — a law
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. pit — a hole
  15. bulb — for light
  16. stem — to come from
  17. pit — in a race
  18. ground — a position
  19. pop — to visit
  20. clip — for paper
  21. rule — government
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. clip — a video
  24. ground — the earth

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