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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: bulb · race · rule · straw · band · dip · root · clip

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. rule — a law
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. root — of a word
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. clip — a video
  8. race — humankind
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. race — a contest
  11. dip — to sink
  12. root — of a plant
  13. band — a ring
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. clip — for paper
  17. rule — government
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. race — the arms race
  21. band — a music group
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bulb — for light
  24. root — the cause

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