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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: mine · deal · fork · clip · spell · lash · bulb · snap

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. snap — to click
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. bulb — for light
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. deal — to handle
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. clip — a video
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. fork — in a road
  15. bulb — for light
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. mine — for digging
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. clip — for paper
  22. spell — magic
  23. clip — to cut
  24. spell — a short time

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