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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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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: chest · branch · wind · bulb · chip · suit · clip · lie

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. bulb — for light
  4. clip — to cut
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. wind — moving air
  7. lie — to recline
  8. branch — a division
  9. wind — moving air
  10. suit — in cards
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. chip — to eat
  13. suit — clothes
  14. bulb — for light
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. chip — for betting
  18. chest — of your body
  19. clip — a video
  20. chest — a box
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. chest — of your body
  23. suit — to fit
  24. wind — to turn a key

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