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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: perch · snap · pitcher · clip · mine · club · hand · bulb

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. clip — for paper
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. club — for golf
  7. hand — help
  8. clip — to cut
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. hand — in cards
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. club — a group
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. club — for dancing
  17. clip — a video
  18. perch — the fish
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bulb — for light
  21. mine — for digging
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. snap — to click
  24. bulb — for light

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