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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: bulb · wound · tube · clip · degree · ball · mark · rush

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. ball — a great time
  3. clip — for paper
  4. tube — a container
  5. bulb — for light
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. bulb — for light
  8. clip — a video
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wound — an injury
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. ball — a dance
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. tube — the underground
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. degree — an amount
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. degree — temperature
  21. wound — an injury
  22. mark — a grade
  23. mark — a trace
  24. degree — from a university

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