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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: board · bulb · rush · land · clip · mark · calf · field

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. bulb — for light
  3. board — to get on
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — for paper
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. field — a subject
  10. clip — to cut
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. mark — a grade
  13. land — a country
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. board — a committee
  17. field — farmland
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — ground
  20. field — for sport
  21. mark — a trace
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. rush — to hurry
  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