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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 120 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: scale · saw · bulb · wake · clip · shower · fall · object

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. fall — to drop
  4. clip — for paper
  5. fall — to drop
  6. object — a thing
  7. saw — the tool
  8. bulb — for light
  9. object — an aim
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. wake — a trail
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. saw — the tool
  14. clip — to cut
  15. scale — in music
  16. shower — to wash
  17. bulb — for light
  18. scale — size or range
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. fall — the season
  21. shower — rain
  22. object — to protest
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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