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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 120 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bulb — for light
  3. pop — to visit
  4. fall — to drop
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. degree — from a university
  7. fall — to drop
  8. pop — music
  9. clip — a video
  10. bulb — for light
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. pop — soda
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. degree — temperature
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. fall — the season
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. degree — an amount
  24. nail — for a hammer

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