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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 · trunk · current · bulb · lie · land · ground · hand

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. clip — for paper
  3. lie — to recline
  4. ground — the earth
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. land — ground
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. ground — a position
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. ground — crushed
  11. clip — to cut
  12. land — a country
  13. land — to come down
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. current — electric
  16. hand — in cards
  17. current — happening now
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. bulb — for light
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. clip — a video
  22. bulb — for light
  23. current — of water
  24. lie — an untruth

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