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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 116 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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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 · chip · bulb · mate · kid · present · ball · clip

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. chip — to eat
  8. chip — for betting
  9. mate — a friend
  10. present — there
  11. present — a gift
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bulb — for light
  15. ball — a great time
  16. present — the time now
  17. bulb — for light
  18. kid — child
  19. ball — a dance
  20. mate — a partner
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. mate — to breed

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