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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 · wave · bass · hand · fork · stem · clip · kick

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bass — low music
  4. stem — to come from
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — for light
  8. clip — to cut
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. hand — help
  12. fork — in a road
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. clip — a video
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. kick — in football
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. stem — a stem cell

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