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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: clip · calf · bulb · fall · tube · ground · race · branch

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. race — a contest
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — to drop
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. tube — the underground
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — a video
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. ground — the earth
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. bulb — for light
  16. race — the arms race
  17. branch — a division
  18. tube — a container
  19. race — humankind
  20. ground — crushed
  21. bulb — for light
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. ground — a position
  24. calf — a young animal

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