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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: cell · scale · bulb · kick · clip · chair · kid · spell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kick — in football
  4. clip — a video
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. bulb — for light
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. spell — magic
  9. cell — in biology
  10. scale — size or range
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. kid — to tease
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. kid — child
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. scale — in music
  19. spell — letters
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bulb — for light
  22. clip — for paper
  23. chair — a leader
  24. scale — for weighing

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