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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 116 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 seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — for light
  5. tube — a container
  6. bank — for money
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. clip — a video
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — farmland
  12. board — to get on
  13. pop — soda
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. field — a subject
  17. pop — music
  18. tube — the underground
  19. bank — for money
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bank — of a river
  23. board — a committee
  24. pop — to visit

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