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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: current · craft · dip · clip · bound · wind · bulb · row

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. craft — a skill
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bound — obliged
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bound — tied together
  10. dip — to sink
  11. current — of water
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. craft — boats
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. bulb — for light
  16. current — electric
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. wind — moving air
  19. row — a line
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bound — certain
  22. current — happening now
  23. clip — a video
  24. wind — moving air

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