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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: bulb · field · snap · bay · wind · clip · arm · season

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. clip — a video
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. field — a subject
  6. season — of the year
  7. snap — to click
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bulb — for light
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. field — for sport
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bulb — for light
  18. clip — to cut
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. season — in sport
  21. field — farmland
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. arm — part of the body

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