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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. stock — goods
  3. bulb — for light
  4. cold — not warm
  5. ground — crushed
  6. clip — a video
  7. stock — shares
  8. bulb — for light
  9. staff — a stick
  10. tube — the underground
  11. tube — a container
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. ground — the earth
  14. clip — for paper
  15. cold — an illness
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. swing — music
  18. clip — to cut
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — employees
  23. swing — to play on
  24. ground — a position

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