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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: clip · game · bulb · jam · staff · band · rush · season

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. staff — employees
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bulb — for light
  5. game — wild animals
  6. rush — hurry
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. band — a ring
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. staff — a stick
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. season — of the year
  15. bulb — for light
  16. band — a music group
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. game — a match
  19. staff — employees
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. clip — a video
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. game — a kind of play

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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