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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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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. bound — obliged
  3. clip — a video
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. branch — a division
  6. drill — the tool
  7. drill — army training
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. swing — to play on
  12. shower — to wash
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. drill — a practice
  15. shower — rain
  16. swing — in golf
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bound — tied together
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bulb — for light
  21. clip — to cut
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. bound — certain
  24. lash — an eyelash

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