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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bear · clip · court · bass · content · bulb · hide · land

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. land — to come down
  3. court — of law
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. court — for sport
  8. clip — for paper
  9. content — happy
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. land — a country
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. clip — a video
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bass — the fish
  19. court — of a king
  20. bear — the animal
  21. content — the amount
  22. land — ground
  23. bass — low music
  24. bulb — for light

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