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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: game · lash · band · mine · vault · last · clip · bulb

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. mine — for digging
  4. last — final
  5. bulb — for light
  6. clip — for paper
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. band — a ring
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. clip — to cut
  12. vault — a safe
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. game — wild animals
  17. clip — a video
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. band — a music group
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — finally
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. game — a match

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