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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: arm · clip · fall · cap · mark · bulb · degree · game

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. mark — a trace
  3. game — wild animals
  4. bulb — for light
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — a hat
  8. clip — to cut
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. cap — of ice
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. clip — a video
  17. bulb — for light
  18. degree — an amount
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. degree — temperature
  21. clip — for paper
  22. game — a match
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. degree — from a university

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