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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: chest · arm · clip · pound · bulb · pop · deal · current

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. current — of water
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. bulb — for light
  5. clip — a video
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. pop — to visit
  8. current — electric
  9. clip — to cut
  10. current — happening now
  11. chest — of your body
  12. deal — to handle
  13. pop — soda
  14. bulb — for light
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. chest — a box
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. clip — for paper
  22. chest — of your body
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. pop — music

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