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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 116 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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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: rule · kid · clip · band · content · bound · bulb · present

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. kid — child
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bulb — for light
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. content — happy
  9. bound — certain
  10. clip — a video
  11. rule — a law
  12. kid — to tease
  13. present — there
  14. bulb — for light
  15. present — a gift
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a ring
  18. content — the amount
  19. bound — tied together
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. rule — government
  22. present — the time now
  23. bound — obliged
  24. band — a rubber band

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