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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 120 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: rush · bulb · chest · clip · plane · club · spell · chair

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. chest — a box
  3. spell — a short time
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. chest — of your body
  8. spell — magic
  9. club — for dancing
  10. plane — a tool
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. bulb — for light
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. club — for golf
  16. chair — a leader
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. club — a group
  21. spell — letters
  22. rush — hurry
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. bulb — of a plant

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