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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: bowl · wind · temple · current · bulb · arm · clip · ball

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. current — of water
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. bulb — for light
  8. current — electric
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. ball — a dance
  12. clip — for paper
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — a video
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. current — happening now
  18. ball — a great time
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. ball — a round shape
  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