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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: clip · bat · squash · spell · calf · bound · bulb · cap

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. squash — to crush
  4. clip — for paper
  5. spell — a short time
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. cap — of ice
  9. clip — to cut
  10. spell — letters
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. spell — magic
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. cap — a lid
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bound — tied together
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bulb — for light
  20. cap — a hat
  21. squash — the sport
  22. clip — a video
  23. bound — certain
  24. bound — obliged

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