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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: pop · game · swing · trunk · file · clip · land · cell

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. game — wild animals
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. clip — a video
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. land — ground
  7. game — a match
  8. file — a document
  9. file — a tool
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. pop — soda
  12. cell — in biology
  13. swing — music
  14. land — a country
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. cell — a phone
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — for paper
  19. swing — to play on
  20. swing — in golf
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. land — to come down
  23. file — a line of people
  24. pop — music

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