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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: kick · club · clip · pitch · band · last · bulb · lean

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. clip — to cut
  3. band — a music group
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. last — finally
  6. clip — a video
  7. club — a group
  8. band — a ring
  9. lean — to bend
  10. lean — thin
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. bulb — for light
  13. club — for dancing
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. club — for golf
  16. kick — in football
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. last — to go on
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. clip — for paper
  23. last — final
  24. bulb — for light

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