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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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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: rule · saw · roll · clip · shower · calf · bulb · land

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. shower — to wash
  3. clip — for paper
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. shower — rain
  6. clip — to cut
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. bulb — for light
  9. roll — a cake
  10. bulb — for light
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. saw — the tool
  14. rule — government
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — a country
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. saw — the tool
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. clip — a video
  22. roll — a list
  23. land — ground
  24. bulb — of a plant

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