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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 116 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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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: clip · lean · bulb · fall · drill · degree · racket · bank

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. bank — for money
  4. lean — thin
  5. clip — for paper
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. lean — to bend
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — a video
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. drill — army training
  13. bulb — for light
  14. degree — an amount
  15. fall — to drop
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bank — of a river
  18. fall — the season
  19. drill — a practice
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. drill — the tool
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bank — for money

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