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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: fan · bear · vault · last · clip · row · scale · bulb

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bear — the animal
  3. row — a line
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. last — finally
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. last — final
  10. row — to paddle
  11. clip — a video
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. bear — the animal
  14. vault — a safe
  15. clip — to cut
  16. last — to go on
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. clip — for paper
  20. scale — size or range
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. scale — in music
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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