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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: wind · bulb · clip · wake · ball · vault · bark · root

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bulb — for light
  8. ball — a dance
  9. bark — to shout
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wind — moving air
  12. ball — a great time
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. root — of a plant
  16. wake — a trail
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. clip — for paper
  19. root — of a word
  20. vault — a safe
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. root — the cause
  24. bulb — for light

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