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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: land · rule · scale · coach · straw · mark · clip · bulb

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. rule — government
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bulb — for light
  8. clip — a video
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. scale — size or range
  11. bulb — for light
  12. mark — a trace
  13. land — ground
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. mark — a grade
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. scale — in music
  19. land — a country
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. land — to come down
  22. rule — a law
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. clip — to cut

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