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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bass · shower · bat · bulb · arm · clip · mark · ground

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bulb — for light
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bat — the animal
  11. shower — rain
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. ground — the earth
  14. bass — low music
  15. clip — a video
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. mark — a grade
  20. mark — a trace
  21. ground — crushed
  22. bulb — for light
  23. ground — a position
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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