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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: clip · cabinet · bat · snap · scale · mine · race · bulb

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. scale — in music
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bulb — for light
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. clip — a video
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — humankind
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. snap — to click
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. clip — for paper
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bat — the animal
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. clip — to cut
  21. scale — size or range
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. race — a contest

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