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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: wind · clip · ball · land · date · foot · bay · bulb

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. foot — a measure
  3. wind — moving air
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. clip — a video
  7. date — the fruit
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. bulb — for light
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bulb — for light
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. clip — for paper
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. land — ground
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. land — to come down
  20. ball — a great time
  21. land — a country
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. clip — to cut
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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