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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: kid · bat · game · deal · staff · straw · bulb · clip

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. deal — to handle
  3. clip — a video
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. bat — the animal
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. game — a match
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — wild animals
  13. bulb — for light
  14. clip — for paper
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. staff — employees
  17. kid — child
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. staff — a stick
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. kid — to tease
  24. staff — employees

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