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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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. mouse — the animal
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. can — a tin
  6. drill — a practice
  7. land — a country
  8. land — ground
  9. clip — to cut
  10. chip — to eat
  11. chip — for betting
  12. bulb — for light
  13. band — a ring
  14. drill — army training
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. can — a tin
  17. drill — the tool
  18. land — to come down
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. band — a music group
  23. can — to be able to
  24. clip — a video

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