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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.

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: bulb · bark · bowl · straw · stem · clip · saw · content

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — a video
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. stem — to come from
  7. saw — the tool
  8. content — happy
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. content — the amount
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. straw — a straw man

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