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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
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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: cold · bat · clip · foot · hand · calf · chip · bulb

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. clip — to cut
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. bulb — for light
  6. hand — help
  7. clip — for paper
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. bat — the animal
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. hand — in cards
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. clip — a video
  17. foot — a measure
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. chip — for betting
  20. bulb — for light
  21. chip — to eat
  22. cold — not warm
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. foot — the bottom

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