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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: arm · degree · current · bulb · bass · rest · clip · spring

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. clip — a video
  3. rest — a break
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bulb — for light
  6. degree — an amount
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. spring — the season
  9. current — of water
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. rest — what's left
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. bass — low music
  15. current — happening now
  16. bulb — for light
  17. clip — to cut
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. rest — what's left
  21. degree — temperature
  22. spring — a coil
  23. current — electric
  24. bass — the fish

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