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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. swing — to play on
  3. swing — in golf
  4. bulb — for light
  5. swing — music
  6. field — a subject
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. bulb — for light
  10. track — a song
  11. field — for sport
  12. track — to keep track
  13. clip — for paper
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. clip — a video
  17. field — farmland
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. kick — in football
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wax — to grow
  24. track — a path

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