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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

Word bank: straw · dip · bulb · row · roll · club · last · clip

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. club — a group
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. club — for golf
  5. clip — to cut
  6. roll — a cake
  7. clip — for paper
  8. row — to paddle
  9. last — to go on
  10. dip — to sink
  11. bulb — for light
  12. row — a line
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. clip — a video
  17. club — for dancing
  18. bulb — for light
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. last — finally
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. last — final
  23. roll — a list
  24. dip — to dunk

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