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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. club — for golf
  4. swing — in golf
  5. cold — an illness
  6. swing — music
  7. cold — not warm
  8. clip — for paper
  9. can — to be able to
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. can — a tin
  12. can — a tin
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. clip — to cut
  15. pound — a weight
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. bulb — for light
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. bulb — for light
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. swing — to play on
  23. club — a group
  24. club — for dancing

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