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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 124 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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. club — a group
  5. swing — in golf
  6. swing — music
  7. club — for dancing
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. clip — to cut
  11. spring — of water
  12. clip — a video
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. clip — for paper
  16. club — for golf
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. spring — the season
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — for light
  23. lean — to bend
  24. swing — to play on

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