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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: bulb · clip · pop · arm · chair · pitcher · fork · kid

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  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. fork — a garden tool
  2. bulb — for light
  3. clip — a video
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bulb — for light
  7. pop — soda
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. clip — for paper
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. clip — to cut
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. kid — child
  18. fork — in a road
  19. pop — music
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. pop — to visit
  22. kid — to tease
  23. chair — a leader
  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