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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 124 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: content · clip · pit · row · bulb · straw · board · mine

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. clip — for paper
  4. board — a committee
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. content — the amount
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. bulb — for light
  11. mine — for digging
  12. pit — in a race
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. content — happy
  16. board — to get on
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. clip — to cut
  19. pit — a hole
  20. row — a line
  21. clip — a video
  22. bulb — for light
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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