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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
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: bulb · rush · plane · kid · content · clip · mine · chest

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. content — happy
  6. content — the amount
  7. mine — for digging
  8. bulb — for light
  9. rush — hurry
  10. plane — a tool
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. kid — child
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. chest — a box
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bulb — for light
  22. clip — to cut
  23. kid — to tease
  24. rush — to hurry

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