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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: roll · fan · pound · game · bat · squash · bulb · clip

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bulb — for light
  3. clip — a video
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. roll — a list
  6. game — wild animals
  7. clip — to cut
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. pound — a weight
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. squash — the sport
  12. squash — to crush
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. clip — for paper
  20. game — a match
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. bat — the animal
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. roll — a cake

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