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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: arm · wound · hand · bulb · clip · nail · stock · pitcher

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bulb — for light
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bulb — for light
  5. wound — an injury
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. wound — an injury
  8. hand — help
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — for paper
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. stock — goods
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. clip — to cut
  20. stock — shares
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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