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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: wind · mug · bulb · saw · fall · clip · staff · hand

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — for paper
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. saw — the tool
  6. fall — the season
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bulb — for light
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. bulb — for light
  12. wind — moving air
  13. hand — help
  14. saw — the tool
  15. fall — to drop
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. mug — a face
  18. clip — a video
  19. mug — to rob
  20. mug — a cup
  21. staff — a stick
  22. hand — in cards
  23. staff — employees
  24. staff — employees

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