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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: kid · spell · rash · cell · ground · bulb · clip · file

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bulb — for light
  3. spell — a short time
  4. cell — in biology
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. ground — crushed
  7. bulb — for light
  8. spell — magic
  9. file — a tool
  10. clip — for paper
  11. kid — to tease
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ground — a position
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. kid — child
  16. file — a document
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rash — a series
  19. file — a line of people
  20. cell — a phone
  21. clip — to cut
  22. spell — letters
  23. rash — hasty
  24. cell — in a prison

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