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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: chip · drill · stand · degree · tube · game · bulb · clip

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. clip — a video
  3. bulb — for light
  4. tube — the underground
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. drill — a practice
  7. degree — an amount
  8. drill — army training
  9. degree — temperature
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. clip — to cut
  12. drill — the tool
  13. game — a match
  14. degree — from a university
  15. chip — to eat
  16. tube — a container
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. bulb — for light
  19. game — wild animals
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. clip — for paper
  22. chip — for betting
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. stand — on your feet

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