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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: bowl · sharp · cabinet · game · spring · clip · last · bulb

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. last — final
  3. bulb — for light
  4. last — finally
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. game — a match
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. spring — of water
  9. clip — to cut
  10. last — to go on
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — the season
  13. sharp — clever
  14. clip — a video
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. game — wild animals
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. bowl — to roll

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