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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chest · craft · spell · mate · clip · bulb · wound · fall

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bulb — for light
  4. chest — a box
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. craft — a skill
  7. bulb — for light
  8. fall — the season
  9. clip — for paper
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. chest — of your body
  14. mate — a partner
  15. clip — a video
  16. spell — letters
  17. mate — to breed
  18. clip — to cut
  19. craft — boats
  20. spell — magic
  21. wound — an injury
  22. mate — a friend
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. spell — a short time

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