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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 · lash · cell · fork · bulb · pit · bass · land

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. fork — in a road
  4. bass — low music
  5. cell — a phone
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. land — ground
  9. clip — a video
  10. bulb — for light
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. land — to come down
  14. pit — a hole
  15. bass — the fish
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. land — a country
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. bulb — for light
  20. cell — in biology
  21. pit — in a race
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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