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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. bass — low music
  4. bass — the fish
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. bulb — for light
  8. current — happening now
  9. wound — an injury
  10. game — wild animals
  11. clip — a video
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. clip — to cut
  14. wind — moving air
  15. board — a committee
  16. bulb — for light
  17. game — a match
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. clip — for paper
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. current — electric
  23. current — of water
  24. board — to get on

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