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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: cap · clip · arm · pitcher · wind · snap · spell · bulb

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. clip — for paper
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. cap — of ice
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. snap — to click
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bulb — for light
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. spell — letters
  15. cap — a lid
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. spell — magic
  20. wind — moving air
  21. spell — a short time
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. clip — a video
  24. cap — a hat

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