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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: bulb · clip · nail · wound · hand · field · stem · current

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. current — happening now
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bulb — for light
  8. field — farmland
  9. clip — a video
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. current — of water
  13. hand — help
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. hand — in cards
  16. current — electric
  17. clip — for paper
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. field — a subject
  20. stem — to come from
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. field — for sport

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