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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: cell · stand · spring · band · clip · bulb · game · bay

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. clip — to cut
  6. game — wild animals
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. clip — a video
  9. band — a music group
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. spring — a coil
  13. game — a match
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. spring — of water
  16. stand — to bear
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. band — a ring
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. spring — the season
  24. cell — in biology

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