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

Word bank: march · snap · deal · club · bulb · trunk · clip · wound

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. clip — a video
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. club — a group
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. march — the month
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. club — for golf
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. snap — to click
  13. wound — an injury
  14. march — music
  15. bulb — for light
  16. club — for dancing
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bulb — for light
  21. deal — to handle
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. march — the month

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