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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: bulb · hand · perch · jam · suit · wind · saw · clip

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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. bulb — for light
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. suit — to fit
  7. perch — the fish
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. saw — the tool
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. wind — moving air
  12. clip — a video
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. suit — clothes
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. suit — in cards
  17. hand — help
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. saw — the tool
  22. hand — in cards
  23. clip — for paper
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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