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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.

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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: band · current · clip · snap · chest · pitch · bulb · lean

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. clip — to cut
  3. current — electric
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. chest — a box
  6. snap — to click
  7. current — of water
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. lean — to bend
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. bulb — for light
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. pitch — completely
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. current — happening now
  19. clip — a video
  20. band — a ring
  21. lean — thin
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bulb — for light
  24. clip — for paper

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