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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 120 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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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: rule · nail · bulb · wound · last · clip · deal · pop

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. deal — to handle
  4. bulb — for light
  5. last — final
  6. pop — music
  7. bulb — for light
  8. pop — soda
  9. clip — to cut
  10. pop — to visit
  11. clip — a video
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. last — finally
  15. wound — an injury
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. wound — an injury
  19. rule — government
  20. clip — for paper
  21. rule — a law
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. last — to go on
  24. nail — for a hammer

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