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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: fall · wound · kid · coach · bank · clip · bulb · season

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. bulb — for light
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wound — an injury
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. fall — to drop
  9. clip — to cut
  10. kid — child
  11. fall — the season
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. season — in sport
  14. clip — a video
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. bank — for money
  19. wound — an injury
  20. season — of the year
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bank — of a river
  23. fall — to drop
  24. kid — to tease

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