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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: file · clip · bulb · pitcher · last · bound · shower · mouse

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bulb — for light
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. shower — to wash
  5. last — to go on
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bound — certain
  9. bulb — for light
  10. shower — rain
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. last — finally
  16. file — a tool
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. last — final
  19. file — a line of people
  20. bound — tied together
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. file — a document
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. mouse — for a computer

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