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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wind · bulb · clip · march · mug · bat · rule · hand

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. rule — a law
  4. hand — help
  5. rule — government
  6. wind — moving air
  7. hand — in cards
  8. march — the month
  9. wind — moving air
  10. clip — to cut
  11. mug — a cup
  12. bulb — for light
  13. march — music
  14. clip — a video
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. march — the month
  18. clip — for paper
  19. mug — a face
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bulb — for light
  24. mug — to rob

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